If you're looking for something free entertainment and education late this afternoon, you should seriously consider visiting the main plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery.

At 5 p.m., acrobat and photographer Ming Cheng Huang, otherwise known as Mr. Candle, will give a demonstration showing how he takes photographs of himself doing handstands in some of the most unusual locations. It's part of Telus TaiwanFest, which takes place downtown throughout the Labour Day weekend.

At 5;30 p.m inside the Vancouver Art Gallery in courtroom 302, a Taiwanese indigenous activist, Prof. Jolan Hsieh, will discuss the similarities between First Nations in her country and in other parts of the world, including B.C.

I interviewed her last week and it was fascinating to learn that Taiwan has two dozen different indigenous peoples. They comprise about 2.2 percent of Taiwan's population of 23 million people and, like in B.C., they are battling to counter negative stereotypes.

There are no reserves and no treaties in Taiwan, but there are seats reserved for indigenous people in the national legislature.

"Taiwanese aboriginal people are more like Polynesian people," Hsieh told me, adding that DNA testing has revealed that there are even links to the Maori people of New Zealand.

She also mentioned that there are some Taiwanese First Nations whose languages resemble that of some indigenous people of the Philippines.

Follow Charlie Smith on Twitter at twitter.com/csmithstraight.