Today’s conversation is perhaps one of the most unusually important ones we have had on the podcast. Len and Hwei-ru Tsou are two Taiwanese activists whose main commitment, over a period of decades, has been to discover and disclose the involvement of Asian and South Asian anti-fascists in the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. Not only do we discover their longstanding friendship with one of their first interviewees--Kenneth Graeber, father of celebrated anarchist David Graeber--but we also hear them linking their anti-fascist work to their pro-Palestine activism, which included their courageous participation in the flotillas protesting Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza. We hear Len and Hwei-ru draw the links between the anti-fascist struggle in Spain and the international movement for Palestinian rights. The conversation inspires and gives one hope about international solidarity in the past, and the present.
Bios of Len Tsou and Hwei-Ru Tsou
We are the authors of a book on the Chinese volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, in Chinese as well as in Spanish edition.
Growing up in Taiwan, we came to the U.S. to pursue our graduate studies in natural sciences. The new land provided us with space and resources for our curiosity in modern Chinese history and the cold war. In 1973 a military coup overthrew the Chilean President Salvador Allende, a democratically elected Socialist. It led us to pay attention to the America’s Dirty Wars.
After obtaining our PhDs in Chemistry, Len worked in semiconductor field and Hwei-Ru in pharmaceutical industry. We each published numerous scientific papers and patents in our respective fields. To serve as a bridge, we founded Cultural International in 1989 to introduce to Taiwan the experiences of American people’s struggles in environment, labor and human rights.
In 2002, we organized weekly peace vigil in Rockland County, NY, hoping to prevent the imminent war on Iraq from happening. The peace vigil continued for nine years. In 2011 Len joined the US Boat to Gaza challenging Israel’s blockade on Gaza. After moving to California, we join the San Jose weekly peace vigil to continue protesting the endless wars.
In 2001 our research result was published in Taiwan as a book 《橄欖桂冠的召喚：參加西班牙內戰的中國人(1936-1939)》. A Spanish edition “Los Brigadistas Chinos en la Guerra Civil: La LLamada de España (1936-1939)” was published in Madrid in 2013. The revised editions were published in Chinese as 《当世界年轻的时候：参加西班牙内战的中国人(1936-1939)》 in 2013 and 2015.
Our writings can be found in The Volunteers, Science & Society, South China Morning Post Magazine (南华早报), Southern Weekend (南方周末), China Times (中國時報), and others.
Our collection of photos and documents of the Chinese volunteers resulted in the travelling photo exhibitions in Spain since 2019. Based on our book, the Phoenix Satellite TV produced a documentary 《当世界年轻的时候——国际纵队里的中国人》in 2020.