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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.")
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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 famous for defecting to the PRC by hijacking China Airlines Flight 334 on May 3, 1986.
