Chinese American Activist Selected Taiwan Liaison

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday appointed a Chinese American activist from Monterey Park to serve as a liaison between Los Angeles and Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, officials said.

Because she has close ties to the island nation, Marina Tse was recommended by Supervisor Mike Antonovich for the position of Los Angeles County/Taipei County Friendship Committee chairwoman, said Alis Clausen, a spokeswoman for Antonovich.

Designed to strengthen ties between Los Angeles and the Taiwanese county of 3 million, the committee will consist of community activists chosen by the Board of Supervisors with Tse’s help.

The Friendship Committee is mostly a ceremonial group, but the county does hope that it will foster “cultural, educational and business exchanges and tourism between the two counties.”

From her father’s home in Taipei, where she was visiting Tuesday, Tse said she was excited about the appointment.

“The committee potentially can do a lot,” she said.

Educated in Taiwan, Tse is fluent in English, Taisanese, Cantonese and Mandarin dialects, which she said will be helpful when planning delegations between the two counties.

Tse is a prominent activist in the San Gabriel Valley. She has served on sister city committees between Asian countries and the cities of San Gabriel and Rosemead, and she is the president of the Monterey Park Library Board.

A special education teacher in the Duarte Unified School District, Tse was appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson in 1994 to the California Special Education Commission.