taiwanese american?

I have mixed feelings on this PSA.

Both of my grandfathers were KMT (paternal g-pa was a colonel, maternal g-pa was a 2-star general officer (equiv. to a 1-star American general)). Both fled to Taiwan, and that’s where both of my parents grew up (before moving to the States independently and meeting here). Does that make me Taiwanese?

We’re ethnic Hans, not indigenous Taiwanese. I speak Mandarin with a Taiwan accent, but I don’t understand a lick of actual Taiwanese.

And if you were to ask me my my lao jia (勞嘉), I’d respond Jiangsu province (江蘇) which is on the mainland, not Taiwan.

I understand that it’s a political fight to get Taiwan recognized in the shadow of the rising Chinese hegemon. And I think it’s important to continue to recognize Taiwan’s independent sovereignty.

But I don’t know if fighting that fight on the US Census form is the best field of battle. And I’ve never identified as a hyphenated American.

On the third hand, since I do usually mark “Asian/Pacific Islander” on most demographic surveys, maybe writing in “Taiwanese” isn’t so bad after all.

Oh the frabjous joy of American racial identity politics!

Edit: corrected maternal g-pa’s rank; I originally wrote 1-star, but my Auntie Yun-Dong corrected me to tell me he was a 2-star general.