In a college community acutely aware of cultural diversity, personal identity can be a charged issue.

On Saturday the Boston Intercollegiate Taiwanese Students Association (BITSA) hosted a conference at Harvard aimed at helping students explore the challenges of being first-generation Taiwanese-Americans. About 200 students registered for the conference, "Old School/New School: Bridging the Taiwanese-American Past and Future," known as BITSA '99,

"The conference was intended to promote and develop the idea of a Taiwanese identity, in light of our parents' identity as compared to our identity," Publicity Co-Director Alex L. Young '02 said.

The conference took its title from the first-generation status of most Taiwanese-American college students. The students' parents generally grew up in Taiwan, while the students themselves have grown up in America, Young said.

"I think the students really enjoyed themselves while they were here and got to learn about Taiwanese culture and values," said Conference Co-Director Emily M. Ko '00.

The conference included talks by notable Taiwanese-Americans, including keynote speaker Dr. Shutsang Liao, a political dissident and now a cancer researcher at the University of Chicago.

"He raised awareness of the need for democracy in Taiwan," Young said. "He is blacklisted by the Taiwanese government, meaning that his relatives were harassed in Taiwan."

Other events included discussion forums and a concert by Wang Lee-Hom, a popular singer in Taiwan and Asia who was recently on the Asian Billboard Top 10.