Taiwanese anchor Chang Ya-chin undertakes demanding U.S. speaking tour

Taiwanese news anchor Chang Ya-chin is undertaking a rigorous speaking tour across the United States, visiting four cities: Philadelphia, Chicago, and both Orange County and San Diego in California. Invited by the All America Taiwan Association, her schedule is packed with back-to-back engagements.

Described as an "Iron Man itinerary," Chang's journey began with a 12-hour flight from Taipei to Los Angeles, followed by a five-hour connecting flight to Philadelphia. Upon arrival, she had only about an hour to change before her first speech. She expressed anxiety about potential flight delays jeopardizing her speaking commitments.

Further illustrating the demanding nature of her tour, Chang recounted a significant delay on her flight from Philadelphia to Chicago. She mentioned dozing off for 2.5 hours, only to wake up and find the plane still on the runway. When she inquired if they had arrived, a fellow passenger informed her they hadn't even taken off yet, attributing the delay to poor weather in Chicago. Fortunately, her next engagement was scheduled for the following morning, U.S. time.

For this trip, Chang opted to travel with only a carry-on suitcase, a decision that made transit easier but required difficult choices during packing. She admitted to shedding tears while selecting which clothes to bring, as fitting everything into the carry-on proved challenging.