Los Angeles, CA –– Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL) celebrated the 25th Anniversary of its Political Internship Program (PIP) on Saturday, August 5, 2017 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Rosemead with a luncheon attended by about 100 community members, including elected officials and leaders of various Taiwanese American organizations. The luncheon marked the end of the 9–week-long summer internship program for college students, and also raised over $20,000 through sponsorships and a silent auction to fund future classes of interns.
TACL National President Pamela Hung opened the luncheon by providing an update on the current state of the organization, saying, “TACL as a second-generation-run organization has continued to thrive across the country. One of our goals this year is to continue to strengthen the bridges between our communities and to empower Taiwanese Americans to make our voices heard.”
The Honorable Mike Eng was also in attendance, and shared how proud he was to have been able to host four TACL interns when he was in the Assembly, including current PIP Director Jeff Shieh.
Keynote speaker California State Treasurer John Chiang, extoled, “It is so important for the community to support programs like this that empower our youth and teach them about the importance of being civically engaged. We are underrepresented, and need more voices that can advocate on behalf of our community. I salute TACL for their dedication to the next generation of leaders.”
Congresswoman Judy Chu presented awards to this year’s interns and extended words of congratulations for their success and completion of the program. As a partner office who has hosted over 10 interns over the past 25 years, Rep. Chu stated that she was “thankful for the Taiwanese American Citizens League for organizing this important program.”
A representative for Congressman Ed Royce was also present to congratulate the program for its 25 years. Royce bears the distinction of having hosted 13 TACL interns, the most of any elected official, including the first class of interns when he served in the CA State Assembly.
This year’s class of interns were:
• Yu Hong Hwang, UCLA | Intern, Representative Ed Royce (CA-39)
• Janet Lee, George Washington | Intern, Representative Judy Chu (CA–27)
• Annabell Liao, Chapman University | Intern, State Senator Ed Hernandez (SD-22)
