On this International Day of Hope, a new video interview to share with Chinese & English spoken on a show that's popular not just in Taiwan, but North America & Asia

Granted, the host, Ben Hedges, knocks it out of the park with his Chinese and I'm much more shy and hesitant by comparison, but given the context, I give it my best :)

After a hiatus since 2020, Ben Hedges (香港,) a UK-educated, US-based journalist and host is bringing A Laowai’s (老外) View of China & Taiwan back to life. His YouTube channel commands nearly 700,000 subscribers, with strong engagement across North America and Asia. Ben embodies a unique Western voice grounded in Chinese fluency and cross-cultural experience since childhood. His role at Taiwanese community events underscores a soft power bridge between diaspora, homeland culture, and global audiences.

In this latest episode, Ben Hedges sits down with me to explore the creative, moral, and political power of Invisible Nation, a film that has sparked dialogue across the Pacific and is rapidly becoming a cultural phenomenon. It is now at #5 and rising of the highest grossing documentaries in Taiwan’s history, and holding at #2 at the box office one month into its theatrical release in Taiwan.

In this episode, we speak to the urgency of Taiwan’s democratic story at a moment when authoritarianism is resurgent globally and U.S. foreign policy is teetering between apathy and complicity. The conversation unpacks the risks and responsibilities of filming in Taiwan during a time of escalating China–U.S. tensions, and what it means to be a white woman telling this story with humility, cross-cultural respect, and moral clarity. I highlight Taiwan’s first female president, Tsai Ing-Wen, as a figure of restraint, dignity, humility and feminist leadership, qualities absent in all of the world’s “strongmen” regimes.

The episode is ultimately about cinematic diplomacy and how storytelling, when rooted in lived experience and global solidarity, can outmaneuver propaganda. The role of independent media in resisting authoritarian mythmaking has never been more important.

On this International Day of Hope, I hope you enjoy it!

xVanessa

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自2020年暫停更新以來，Ben Hedges（香港出生）、受英國教育、現居美國的記者與主持人，重新啟動了他的頻道《老外看中國與台灣》。他的YouTube頻道擁有近70萬名訂閱者，在北美和亞洲擁有極高的互動與影響力。Ben 展現了一種獨特的西方視角，扎根於自童年以來的中文流利度與跨文化經驗。他在台灣社群活動中的角色，更凸顯了他作為海外僑民、台灣文化與全球觀眾之間的一道「軟實力橋樑」。

在這集最新節目中，Ben Hedges 與我深入對談，探索《無國籍國》的創作動力、道德意義與政治力量。這部紀錄片已在太平洋兩岸引發廣泛討論，並迅速成為文化現象。目前，它已躍升至台灣紀錄片票房史上第五名，並在上映一個月後持續穩坐票房第二名的佳績。

我們在節目中談到台灣民主故事的迫切性，正值全球威權主義再度崛起、美國外交政策在冷漠與共謀之間搖擺不定之時。這段對話細緻剖析了在中美關係日益緊張下於台灣拍攝的風險與責任，也探討了身為一位白人女性如何以謙卑、跨文化尊重與道德清晰來講述這個故事的意義。我特別強調台灣第一位女性總統——蔡英文——如何成為節制、尊嚴、謙遜與女性領導力的象徵，這些特質在世界各地的「強人」政權中幾乎消失殆盡。

本集節目的核心，是關於電影外交與敘事的力量——當故事植根於真實經歷與全球團結時，它能超越宣傳、擊破謊言。獨立媒體在對抗威權神話的角色，從未如此重要。

在這個國際希望日，誠摯邀請您一起收看！

x Vanessa