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It's the Fourth of July! Happy 247th Birthday, America! It's estimated that around 80,000 U.S. nationals live and work in Taiwan; most, however, do so in the north. But the U.S. State Department has never forgotten southern Taiwan! The American Institute in Taiwan, Kaohsiung Branch (AIT/K), has been serving both Taiwanese and American citizens in the southern port city since 1979. AIT/K's area includes the south, southeast, and outer islands such as Penghu. Check out this fun conversation Eryk recently had with outgoing AIT/K Branch Chief Tom Wong about his time in tropical Taiwan.
Cover:
1. The United States Information Service (USIS) office on Wufu Road in Kaohsiung City. The USIS became the American Institute in Taiwan Kaohsiung Branch Office (AIT/K) in late 1979. (All photos courtesy of AIT/K)
2. In 1986 AIT/K moved to Zhongzheng 3rd Road.
3. AIT/K now has an office on the 5th floor of the swanky China Steel Corporation Headquarters building on Chenggong 2nd Road, Qianzhen District, Kaohsiung.
4. AIT/K's mascot: A Texas exchange student wearing a Hakka floral print shirt. (Photo by Eryk Michael Smith)
5. The "American Corner" at the Heti Library is an example of AIT/K's outreach programs in southern Taiwan. Books, movies and other American content is shared with young learners in Kaohsiung. (Other libraries in southern cities have smaller "American Spaces.")
Check our very first episode, the story of a very white man who showed up in London in 1703... and claimed to be from Formosa. Or try a foodie episode from Season 3. Or, for those who want some harder-core history, hear the tale of the Lockheed U-2 pilot Wang Hsi-chueh 王錫爵, who became was famous for defecting to the PRC by hijacking China Airlines Flight 334 on May 3, 1986.
