When Leta Hong Fincher’s book “Leftover Women” was first published ten years ago, it was considered a seminal work on Chinese feminism. The book outlines the structural discrimination, wholly reinforced by the government, used to demonize educated women in their late twenties and early thirties who remain unmarried. A decade later, and with Xi’s continual reinforcement of patriarchal ideals and traditional family structures, the book is more pertinent than ever.  This week on the podcast, host Jessie Lau speaks with Leta about why the book is still as relevant today and what has changed ..read more

Happy Lunar New Year to all who celebrate! To kick off the year of the dragon, we have the one and only Fuchsia Dunlop on our podcast this week. She discusses her recent book, 'Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food.' This episode is hosted by Lijia Zhang. Thank you for your interest in our bimonthly, independent podcast. To support our editorial goals and help us keep producing podcast episodes, please consider donating through our Paypal page or becoming a Patreon member. We encourage listeners to send us feedback, questions, and connect with our podcast team at nuvoices@proton ..read more

This week, NüVoices board members and co-hosts Jessie Lau and Lijia Zhang are in conversation with Wanqing Zhang, an independent journalist, to discuss China's feminist movement taking place online. Despite formidable challenges such as censorship, harassment, and societal pressures, these feminists continue to resist patriarchal norms, as revealed in Wanqing's recent in-depth feature for Rest of World. In the podcast episode, Wanqing shares the stories of women she spoke to regarding this latest wave of digital activism — taking place on Chinese social media platforms like Xiaohongshu. Lijia ..read more

Everyone in our NüVoices community: happy 2024! To start the new year, host Solarina Ho delves into the new captivating documentary, "How to Have an American Baby" with filmmaker Leslie Tai. An exploration of a shadow economy catering to Chinese tourists seeking U.S. citizenship for their newborns, the film unveils the fortunes and tragedies of the mothers involved. Leslie Tai, the creative force behind this documentary, is a recipient of the 2019 Creative Capital Award and an MFA graduate from Stanford University. Leslie's short films have graced prestigious platforms like Tribeca Film Festiv ..read more

It has been more than half a year since a Facebook post referencing the Netflix drama Wave Makers sparked a wave of #MeToo revelations across Taiwanese society. In this episode, we trace the origins of the movement, what has happened since, and where things stand going forward with guests Darice Chang and Rita Jhang. Alongside host Solarina Ho, they also share their insights and perspectives on the attitudes and conflicts over #MeToo issues, feminism, the challenges that arise when competing concerns get in the way, and the intersection of #MeToo with the upcoming Taiwan election. Darice Chan ..read more

In this special collaboration with Ghost Island Media,  host Emily Y. Wu discusses the importance of local and diverse perspectives when it comes to global coverage of Taiwan. Taipei-based journalists Silva Shih, Afore Hsieh, Wen-Yee Lee join Emily in this wide-ranging discussion.   Taiwan's upcoming election has become one of the most closely monitored  events in decades, drawing the attention of foreign press members, international scholars, and think-tank or trade delegations. This heightened interest is reflected not only in the increased number of books published about Tai ..read more

Have you ever been laughed at by family or friends when you tried speaking a new language? It's particularly disheartening when it’s your family's language, In this episode,  we speak to artist and illustrator Pearl Low on the difficulties of finding safe spaces for language learning, especially for heritage language learners. Heritage language learners are people who have a certain language in their family but cannot speak it themselves.  Learning a heritage language can be especially difficult because of the immense cultural expectations.  Pearl knows firsthand the difficultie ..read more

In this week's episode, we delve deep into the LGBTQ movement in Taiwan. Our guest, Wen Liu, brings her expertise as an assistant research professor at Academia Sinica, adding valuable insights into the history and evolution of queer rights in Taiwan. Wen Liu and our host, Sophia Yan, explore the movement's origins, its pivotal moments, and the courageous individuals who paved the way for progress. Furthermore, the conversation touches on the challenges that lie ahead for the LGBTQ community in Taiwan, providing a nuanced understanding of the ongoing struggles and areas that require attention ..read more

This week, Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, China reporter at Axios, joins host Joanna Chiu to dive deep into her latest book, Beijing Rules. In its pages, Bethany details China's sophisticated strategy of leveraging its economic prowess, manipulating both access and denial, to shape the behavior of individuals, governments, and companies globally. Bethany illustrates how entities are compelled not just to avoid crossing Beijing's red lines, but also to actively support the CCP's interests. Joanna and Bethany discuss the exclusive reporting covered in the book, including China's interference in a Zo ..read more

Journalist Clarissa Wei and chef Ivy Chen join us this week to talk about their new book Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories from the Island Nation. According to host Solarina Ho, Made in Taiwan is both timeless and timely, and is more than a recipe book. It's a celebration of Taiwanese culture and its people through its unique culinary identity.  In this episode, we discuss how food fits into discussions around identity, common culinary misconceptions, Indigenous and Hakka influences, how Clarissa and Ivy designed the recipes, as well as the contrast between Western coverage of cross-st ..read more