TACL Beginnings
In 1985, Li-Pei Wu established TACL to promote the rights and welfare of Taiwanese Americans and to foster active participation in US society. TACL utilized the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) as an example in encouraging self esteem, participation and recognition. The TACL founders wanted to see Taiwanese Americans earn the respect and recognition of American society.
The First Decade (1985- 1995)
1986 – TACL mobilized to defend the TA community when the Monterey Park City Council rejected a Senior Citizen Housing Project that would’ve serviced the TA Community
1990 – Organized the first ever nationwide campaign for the 1990 census
1991 – Established the first Taiwanese American Professionals (TAP) chapter in Los Angeles
1992 – TACL launches LID (Leadership, Identity and Development) youth camp, its first summer and winter youth camp
1992 – Development and establishment of the Political Internship Program (PIP)
The Second Decade (1995-2005)
2000 – TACL created the “Write in Taiwanese” campaign to combat the vast undercount of Taiwanese Americans in the United States
2000 – Launch of the Journalism Internship Program
2001 – Re-launching of TAP as a program of TACL
2002 – Petitioned against Abercrombie & Fitch to pull t-shirts with insensitive logos which prompted the company to recall and remove those t-shirts from their stores and website
2004 – TACL supported the passing of AB2428 “Kenny’s Law” which protects hate crime victims and their families from further acts of violence
The Third Decade (2005- 2015)
2009 – San Francisco is voted in as an official TAP Chapter, Sept 2009
2010 – The highly successful NorCal “TAYL” camp officially becomes a part of TACL and rebrands as TACL-LYF
2010 – New York is voted in as an official TAP Chapter, Jan 2010
2010 – San Diego is voted in as an official TAP Chapter, Sept 2010
2010 – TACL organizes the nationwide 2010 write in taiwanese campaign
2012 – TAP-SF takes over the SF Taiwanese American Cultural Festival
2012 – Global Leadership Conference (GLO)
2012 – Washington D.C. is voted in as an official TAP Chapter, Sept 2012
2013 – Boston is voted in as an official TAP Chapter, Jan 2013
2014 – Seattle is voted in as an official TAP Chapter, Sept 2014
2015 – Atlanta is voted in as an official TAP Chapter, Jan 2015
2015 – Austin is voted in as an official TAP Chapter, Sept 2015
The Fourth Decade (2015- 2025)
2017 – TACL delegation is invited by OC to visit Taiwan
2018 – Orange County is voted in as an official TAP Chapter, Jan 2018
2020 – During the height of covid, TACL hosted a virtual Taiwan-Fest to connect our community during difficult times
2020 – TACL organized the nationwide 2020 census write in taiwanese campaign
2021 – Spark Accel launched a virtual accelerator for Taiwanese American Entrepeneurs
2022 – Launch of the TACL Legacy Fund Initiative
2024 – TAP-Atlanta organizes and hosts the Taiwanese American Heritage Showcase
2024 – TAP-San Diego organizes and hosts the San Diego Taiwan Festival
2025 – Restart of TACL-LID Youth Camp