Navigating Identity: The Lannang Based Overseas

ABSTRACT:

The Lannang (Chinese-Filipino) experience is not just about culture, it is about survival, erasure, and power. Living abroad forces Lannang identity into constant negotiation: between silence and voice, invisibility and recognition, assimilation and authenticity. This talk will confront the declining use of Lánnang-uè, the marginalization of Lannang identity within Filipino, Chinese, and Asian American spaces, and the consequences of being perpetually seen as “too foreign” or “not enough.” By drawing from history and lived experience, this session argues that preserving and amplifying Lannang identity is not cultural nostalgia - it is political strategy, essential to the fight for Asian American representation, solidarity, and power.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Clifford Robin Temprosa Li, KOR is a TEDx speaker, nonprofit leader, and political strategist shaping Asian American power and visibility. He is the Founder and CEO of Dare to Change Consulting, Inc., a social impact and development firm, where in the United States, he has helped secure over $30 million and hundreds of contracts for Asian-led nonprofits andbusinesses. Clifford is also the Chief Marketing Officer of Phenom Sportswear, Inc. and Creator of Margins Of, a media platform amplifying Asian stories in democracy. Clifford also is acontributing writer regarding nonprofit, politics, and policy with ABS-CBN International.

Born in the Philippines and of Filipino-Chinese descent, Clifford has led political and policy campaigns in the New York State Legislature, secured the largest U.S. government grant for a Filipino nonprofit ($1.6M), launched national democracy initiatives mobilizing Millennial and GenZ Asian American voters, and scaled dozens of nonprofits.

Clifford has guested on multiple podcasts and delivered speaking engagements across the United States. He serves on several nonprofit boards, including the Federation of Philippine American Chambers of Commerce, is a Knight Officer of the Knights of Rizal, and has been recognized with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, Citations by the New York State Senate and New York City, the Change Agent of the Year Award, and is a 2023 Power PlayerRising and 2024 AAPI Power Player in PoliticsNY.

REGISTRATION:
go.ateneo.edu/LannangBasedOverseas