Happy Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month!

Whenever I think about all of the different types of Asian people in the world, I think about the animated TV show, "King of the Hill."

If you can’t watch that clip above — when an Asian family moves next door to the Hill's, Hank asks if they're "Chinese or Japanese."

Kahn says, "We're from Laos..." and explains where that is.

Then Hank deadpans, "So, are you Chinese or Japanese?"

I'm Taiwanese. Born in Taipei, I moved to Arlington, TX when I was 3 and lived there until I was 18. “King of the Hill” is set in the fictional town of Arlen, TX, and I see a lot of similarities. My family became U.S. citizens when I was 8.

From left to right: Mom, Grandmother holding a cousin maybe, and Grandfather holding me and my brother

Easy to guess who I am in this picture of little blond kids in Arlington, TX.

Although most people assume Taiwanese people are Chinese, that's not always true. Yes, a lot of Taiwanese came from China originally, but there are also native Taiwanese. Both of my parents were born in Taiwan. My grandmother, on my mother's side, was born in Taiwan, and her parents were too. Her Taiwanese lineage goes back pretty deep.

My grandmother and I at my cousin’s wedding.

Taiwanese is its own dialect, and that's what my grandmother spoke mostly, although she could also speak and understand Mandarin.

She also grew up writing and speaking Japanese because Japan had taken over the island when she was in elementary school. My grandmother also spoke some English, and studied hard and passed the U.S. citizenship exam in her 80s!

Both the Japanese and the Americans influence Taiwanese culture. We love cute anime characters like Hello Kitty (I've heard there's even a Hello Kitty Lounge at the Taipei International Airport) and baseball is big, especially Little League/Youth Baseball.

We also can’t talk about Taiwan without mentioning food. The food culture is HUGE in Taiwan. Most Taiwanese people would probably consider themselves "foodies" before it was even a thing. Check out THIS Eater article about Taiwanese cuisine.

2012 Rehearsal Dinner / Chinese Wedding Banquet - I’m showing everyone how to eat a Chinese Steamed Bao, wearing one of three Qi Pao, a traditional Chinese dress.

As you can tell, I’m very proud of my Taiwanese heritage. I’m also very much an American. When I was in my 20s, my mom told me that I should go back to Taiwan to meet a Taiwanese boy and get married. I told her that it wouldn’t work out because I’m more American, culturally, than I am Taiwanese.

Despite being a founding member of the U.N., Taiwan (R.O.C.) is not recognized as part of the U.N. because of China's influence. It was stripped of its recognition in the 1970s. Unlike Communist China, Taiwan is a multi-party Democracy, and has its own President. The last president was even an amazing woman!

Speaking of presidents, besides May being Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Month, last week also marked 100 days since Trump took office. Here’s how the stock market performed, compared to the last 15 presidential first 100 days (including Trump’s first presidency):

I bet a lot of people would be surprised that Biden’s first presidency had the best performance, followed very closely by Obama’s first presidency.

In Trump’s first 100 days, the stock market dropped 7.8%. It’s the 3rd lowest. Only Nixon in 1972 and Ford in 1974 had lower numbers, and both of those presidents started their presidencies while the country was still utilizing manpower and resources in a war in Vietnam. There was also the Watergate scandal, a major recession and an oil crisis.

Of course, it also matters what president came before, since this is the first 100 days we’re talking about. So, Biden’s first 100 days were definitely influenced by Trump’s last presidency. It’s why most people, myself included, thought that, at the very least, the stock market would go up in these last 100 days.

Last year (2024), was a very good year for the stock market. The four major U.S. indexes were up. The NASDAQ Composite was up 28%, followed by the S&P 500 with a 23% increase, then the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) at 13%, and the Russell 2000 with a 10% increase.

Here’s what a Charles Schwab article wrote about 2024 back on January 5th, before Trump took office.

So, we have to assume then, that it’s everything Trump is doing that’s spooking the market and creating the daily rollercoaster.

Trump has slapped enormous tariffs on our global trade partners. Under DOGE, he’s laid off about 275,000 government workers, and he’s threatened the independence of the Federal Reserve, whose main job is to make decisions to create a stable and healthy economy. It also plays a role in consumer protection and community development.

The Fed does this by increasing or decreasing the interest rate, regulating banks and other financial institutions, and supports community economic development through various initiatives.

So, what can we do during this time of instability?

I’ve written a couple of articles.

Financial Literacy Month’s Stock Market Woes

Hope in the Midst of Turmoil

How I Redefined Minimalism

Loss Aversion: Why the Fear of Losing Money Impacts Your Financial Wellness and How to Overcome It

With Love & Gratitude,