Talking Taiwan

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   July is Black, Indigenous, People of Color Mental Health Awareness Month, so I thought this would be good time to invite Dr. Ilene Wong, who writes as I.W. Gregorio on to Talking Taiwan to talk about her latest novel, This is My Brain in Love. Dr. Wong has described the novel as a happy book about mental illness across cultures. We spoke about how she balances her medical and writing careers and her first book, None of the Above.     Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   Why she writes under the pen name “I.W. Gregorio” How she went from being a doctor to a YA author and which came first How she balances her career in medicine with her writing How her medical career informs her writing How much of her novel draws from her personal life Her thoughts on the model minority myth and stereotypes What she thinks of the media’s focus on suicide as the endpoint of depression YA books and movies that romanticized death by suicide The difference between being down in the dumps and clinically depressed How difficult was it for Ilene to come out about her mental health issues Why she felt compelled to write this book now How her family dealt with her depression The paradoxical views that some doctors have about medicating for mental health issues How we might de-stigmatize mental health The difference between passive and active suicide ideation Her writing process and the importance of having critique partners The feedback that she’s received on the book Her first book None of the Above What the term “intersex” means Why she writes for YA audiences Her advice for aspiring authors Ilene’s connection to Taiwan   Related Links:   Ilene’s website: www.iwgregorio.com   I.W. Gregorio on social media:   Twitter: https://twitter.com/IWGregorio   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iwgregorio/   Tumblr: https://iwgregorio.tumblr.com/   Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Mental Health Awareness Month: https://www.mhanational.org/BIPOC-mental-health-month   Suicide hotlines:   Crisis Text Line (Text HOME to741741 from anywhere in the USA, at any time) National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)   The Trevor Project (1-866-488-7386)   For suicide hotlines by country: International Association for Suicide Prevention https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/     Mental Health Resources:   Mental Health America https://screening.mhanational.org/screening-tools   Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (1-800-662-4358 https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/)   The Anxiety and Depression Association of America https://adaa.org/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   In 2015, I spoke with Gordon Chang, author and political commentator about his views on China and his books, The Coming Collapse of China, and Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World. I recently invited him back on Talking Taiwan, to listen to that episode, check out episode 85.     Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   How Gordon went from practicing law to writing The Coming Collapse of Chinaand becoming a political commentator who focuses on news about China How Gordon’s views of China changed after he worked and lived there from 1996-2001 How the Chinese Communist Party is going in the wrong direction What kind of reactions Gordon’s book, The Coming Collapse of Chinareceived What’s going to happen if China does collapse? China’s predatory trade policies How China’s ban of certain websites and social media platforms delegitimizes the Chinese Communist Party Gordon’s impressions of Taiwan How Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement was inspired by Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement Dissent in Hong Kong, Tibet and the Uighurs in Xinjiang Gordon’s book Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World How Gordon believes that the U.S. should be calling out China on North Korea Gordon’s thoughts on the premise of the film The Interviewand the cyber hacks on Sony If Gordon has another book in the works     Related Links:   Gordon Chang on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gordongchang   Gordon Chang’s website: www.gordonchang.com   Gordon’s book Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400062942/qid=1134270260/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-9747648-7111228?s=books&v=glance&n=283155   Gordon’s book, The Coming Collapse of China: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/037550477X/qid=1134270217/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/002-9747648-7111228?n=507846&s=books&v=glance   Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement: https://qz.com/1714897/what-was-hong-kongs-umbrella-movement-about/   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella_Movement   Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-asian-studies/article/inside-taiwans-sunflower-movement-twentyfour-days-in-a-studentoccupied-parliament-and-the-future-of-the-region/DB4A7B57538A6F06DC6C8CF0058C8040   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_Student_Movement   The Interview: https://www.netflix.com/title/70305895   https://www.cnn.com/2014/12/27/world/asia/north-korea-the-interview-reaction/index.html   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/08/-sp-north-koreans-review-the-interview

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   Gordon Chang is an author and political commentator. I first learned of him when I heard about his book The Coming Collapse of China. Then in 2015, I met and interviewed him for the Talking Taiwan podcast. We will re-share that episode at a later time. Recently, I invited Gordon back on to share his thoughts on the Hong Kong Security Law, India’s ban of TikTok, Zoom’s ties with China and the confirmed case of bubonic plague in China’s Inner Mongolia. Will the U.S. ban Tiktok? At the time this interview was recorded that question was unanswered.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   What is the Hong Kong Security Law? What does the Hong Kong Security Law mean for Hong Kong and its democracy movement? What has happened since the law was enacted? What has been the reaction to the law by people in Hong Kong and around the world? China’s violation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed on December 19, 1984  How can the international community hold China accountable for what’s happening to Hong Kong? British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s offer to give British citizenship to up 3 million people from Hong Kong Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen’s offer to provide refuge to the people of Hong Kong What the Hong Kong Security Law means for Taiwan How willing and able is China to take Taiwan by force? India’s ban of 59 different Chinese apps including Tiktok and WeChat Why the concern over Chinese apps? The Chinese Communist Party’s 2017 National Intelligence Law How Tiktok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company which is subject to the National Intelligence Law How Zoom has sent information back to China, and canceled the accounts of activists who used Zoom to commemorate the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square The confirmed case of bubonic plague in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the G4 Swine Flu China’s handling of COVID-19   Related Links:   Gordon Chang on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gordongchang   Gordon Chang’s website: www.gordonchang.com   The Hong Kong Security Law: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/world/asia/hong-kong-security-law-explain.html   https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-52765838   Articles about concerns that the Chinese Communist Party could be mining the data of Tiktok users: https://qz.com/1613020/tiktok-might-be-a-chinese-cambridge-analytica-scale-privacy-threat/   https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2020/06/26/warning-apple-suddenly-catches-tiktok-secretly-spying-on-millions-of-iphone-users/#69134f8934ef   https://theprint.in/tech/tiktok-caught-spying-on-iphone-users-in-india-and-around-the-world/450339/   Zoom’s data has gotten routed through China: https://www.businessinsider.com/china-zoom-data-2020-4   https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2020/04/03/warning-zoom-sends-encryption-keys-to-china-sometimes/#4a901a0d3fd9   Why Zoom closed an account of a group that held a Zoom event commemorating the 31st anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen Square Massacre: https://www.axios.com/zoom-closes-chinese-user-account-tiananmen-square-f218fed1-69af-4bdd-aac4-7eaf67f34084.html?fbclid=IwAR2-8R2Jz9bb_iskXAJcO4mmBXrAeltYKs7CfZNna4h0Ko7TakrLB1sgH7k     U.S. Secretary of State Mike’s appearance on Laura Ingram’s Fox News Show stating that the US is considering banning Tiktok: https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2020/07/07/tiktok-app-china-us-pompeo.cnnbusiness/video/playlists/business-news/   https://www.foxnews.com/media/mike-pompeo-tik-tok-china-communist-social-media-spying-fox-ingraham

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   Stefanie Davis and Patrick Springer are the founders of the Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative, which organized a rally in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement on June 13th in Taipei’s 228 Peace Park. I spoke to Stefanie and Patrick about their experiences living as people of color in Taiwan and the U.S., the activities planned for the rally and their personal views of Black Lives Matter.   Here’s a description of the Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative rally from their Facebook event page:   We cannot sit around as the stories of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Iyanna Dior, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown Jr., Pamela Turner, Atatiana Jefferson, and countless others become common occurrences- background noise to the daily news, their lives summarized as sound bites between the weather and sports updates.   We cannot sit idly by and watch as police brutality against innocent black and brown bodies continues to go unchecked around the world.   It is time for us to take a stand and make our voices known that we demand action against racism both abroad and at home. That injustice against one of us, is an injustice to all.   Join us in a legal and peaceful rally Saturday, June 13th, at 228 Peace Memorial Park in Taipei as we come together to lend our support and our voices to those around the world fighting for equality and for others right to simply breathe.     Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   What brought Stefanie and Patrick to Taiwan and how long they have been here The racism that they have experienced in Taiwan and how it compares to what they’ve experienced in the U.S. How they talk to their students about race and nationality Patrick’s bar Arts & Crafts (in Taichung) How the Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative (BLSGI) came about The events and activities planned at the June 13 BLSGI rally The Taipei Is Listening Forum How the BLSGI rally has put Taiwan on the map as one of the countries that has had a rally about the injustices happening to Black people in the U.S. The feedback they’ve received about the rally What Stefanie and Patrick hope that people take away from the experience of being at the rally or what they learned at the rally Common stereotypes that people have about Black people Facts and statistics that demonstrate some of the discrimination that Blacks in the U.S. experience The shooting of Atatiana Jefferson and arrest of Sandra Bland Where the funds raised at the rally went Patrick and Stefanie’s personal experiences with Black Lives Matter What advice Stefanie or Patrick have for non-Black people who want to understand the Black experience or who want to be allies What Black Lives Matter means to Stefanie and Patrick Facts and statistics based on US data and research that were shared at the BLSGI rally:   More than 1/2 of young Black Americans know someone, including themselves, who has been harassed by the police. Black students are 3 times more likely to be suspended than white students for similar infractions. Black drivers are 30% more likely than white drivers to be pulled over by the police. For every $100 earned by white families -> Black families earn $57.30. Blacks Americans make up 13% of the nation's population. Blacks Americans make 40% of prison populations.     Related Links:       Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BLSGlobal/   Brothas & Sistas of Taiwan Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1728788584038273/   Taipei Is Listening Forum: https://www.facebook.com/events/2570056726428424/   An article about the Taipei Is Listening Forum: https://ketagalanmedia.com/2020/06/11/is-taipei-listening-black-lives-matter-taiwan-gears-up-for-weekend-rally/     Patrick’s bar Arts & Crafts’ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ArtsAndCraftsBar/     To follow Patrick's bartending recipes, videos, photos and his Virtual Happy Hour booking information visit: https://www.inhousebartender.com/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   In 2017 I interviewed Professor Wen Liu about the historic news of May 24, 2017, that Taiwan’s Constitutional Court had ruled that marriage is not strictly defined as being between a man and a woman. This paved the way for same sex marriage to be legalized in Taiwan in 2019. Since the Stonewall uprising, which began on June 28, 1969, led to the international gay rights movement, June has become recognized as worldwide Pride month. In recognition of Pride month, I’d like to re-share my interview with gender studies Professor Wen Liu.   Here's a link to the original post of this interview: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/gender-studies-professor-wen-liu-talking-taiwan-ep-58/   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   The May 24th ruling by the Constitutional Court in Taiwan that same-sex marriage could be legalized Mr. Chi Chia-wei who’s lawsuit led to the May 24th ruling The history of the same-sex marriage battle and family law in Taiwan Major turning points in Taiwan’s LGBTQ movement The history behind Taiwan’s gay pride parade How Taiwan compares to other Asian countries on LGBTQ issues The next steps after the May 24th ruling The marriage equality bill, civil partnership bill, multiple family bill Other work that needs to be done in Taiwan for the LGBTQ community   Related Links: Wen Liu’s writings on New Bloom Magazine: http://newbloommag.net/author/wen-liu/ An article about the LGBTQ movement in Taiwan: https://outreachfortaiwan.org/taiwan-101/social-movements/lgbtq-movement-in-taiwan/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   On June 28, 2020, Taiwan Pride Parade for the World will be held in Taipei at 3pm to celebrate Pride Month and the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots. While in-person Pride events have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will likely be one of the few if only in-person Pride events to be held in the world during Pride Month. I spoke with the organizer of Taiwan Pride Parade for the World, Darien Chen about what motivated him to organize the event.   Darien also told me about how he participated in Mr. Gay World as Mr. Gay Taiwan and how he hopes that the parade will give people around the world hope and keep the torch and spirit of Pride alive.     Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   How Darien competed as the first Mr. Gay Taiwan at Mr. Gay World His involvement in the first Gay Pride Parade in Taiwan His involvement with the NTU (National Taiwan University) gay student club GayChat What motivated Darien to organize Taiwan Pride Parade for the World The challenges and obstacles he faced in trying to organize the event How Taiwan will be the only place in the world that will be able to host a live in-person Gay Pride Parade in June (worldwide Pride Month), on the anniversary of the June 28, 1969 Stonewall riots That there are several Pride parades/events organized at the local level in Taiwan’s various counties Activities planned on the day of the event If there will be a live stream of the event Darien’s co-organizer Mamasan drag queen Magnolia La Manga How this rally will compare to the annual Gay Pride Parade that takes place in Taiwan in October What the annual Gay Pride Parade that takes place in Taiwan in October is like and how it compares to the Gay Pride March in New York and other major cities     Related Links:   Taiwan Pride Parade for the World Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/277051990005355/   A Live stream of the event (Taiwan Pride Parade for the World) will be available on the Taiwan Pride Parade for the World Facebook event page or on Cookie the Drag Queen’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2Vr2VW6   Here’s where you can watch Global Pride 2020: https://www.globalpride2020.org/watch/   GLOBAL PRIDE 2020: COVID-19 relief PERFORMANCES WITH TODRICK HALL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HhzcnTFfjE   Mr. Gay World: https://mrgayworld.com/   Anastasia Lin, Miss World Canada 2016: http://www.anastasialin.com/bio   A Taipei Times article about NTU’s (National Taiwan University) student club GayChat: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2015/09/27/2003628678

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   After the murder of George Floyd sparked protests in Minneapolis, here in New York, across the country, and around the world, I wanted to have a conversation on Talking Taiwan about what precipitated all of this social unrest, the Black Lives Matter movement and what we, especially non-Black people can do at this time.   This led me to invite Jalesa Tucker to be a guest on Talking Taiwan. I met Jalesa when I did some work for a nonprofit that educates young people about healthy relationships.     Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   Who was George Floyd and why his death has led to massive protests across the U.S. and globally Recent incidents in the U.S. that led up to the protests over the murder of George Floyd (May 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota): the killing of Ahmaud Arbery (February 23 in Brunswick, Georgia), Breonna Taylor (March 13 in Louisville, Kentucky), a dispute between Chris Cooper and Amy Cooper in New York City’s Central Park (May 25) The death of Trayvon Martin (February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida) that led to the Black Lives Matter movement The start of the hashtag Black Lives Matter What is taught about Black history or the lack thereof in U.S. high schools The Black Lives Matter movement’s call to defund the police and what that means Resources to learn more about racial inequality in the U.S. Why Black Lives Matter is about humanity and how we treat each other   Related and Recommended Links:   Netflix documentary film, directed by Ava DuVernay 13th: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfcq5pF8u8&t=210s     Malcom X: https://www.malcolmx.com/biography/     James Baldwin: https://www.biography.com/writer/james-baldwin     My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem: https://www.resmaa.com/books     Emmanuel Acho’s YouTube channel video series, Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black Man: https://www.youtube.com/user/Eacho18/videos

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   Crushing The Myth (CTM) is an Asian American speaker series that shares Asian American stories and perspectives with a global audience. Established in January of 2019, CTM aims to connect Asian Americans and allies to each other.   I spoke with the Founder of Crushing The Myth, JD Chang about why he created CTM, and its mission.   Crushing The Myth is about showing that Asian America today is more than just the “Model Minority” label and telling Asian American stories that make people LISTEN, LEARN, and INSPIRED.       Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   JD’s experience of the model minority myth What Crushing The Myth is about and what it represents What is the mission of Crushing The Myth (CTM) How JD started his career as a film line producer What JD thinks about TED Talks South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference What Crushing the Myth offers to its participants (prospective speakers) What’s the biggest challenge JD has experienced with Crushing The Myth The highlights of working on Crushing The Myth How people can sign up to do a Crushing The Myth talk The training that Crushing The Myth provides to its speakers JD’s tips for public speaking JD’s tips for looking good on video Where you can watch the CTM talks       Related Links:   Crushing The Myth’s website: https://www.crushingthemyth.com/   Crushing The Myth on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crushingthemyth/   Crushing The Myth YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKLyCJ6sOp72YB2iXJhd9DA       JD Chang on social media:   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdchang360/   Twitter: https://twitter.com/jdchang360       APEX for Youth: https://www.apexforyouth.org/   Asia Society: https://asiasociety.org/new-york   South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference: https://www.sxsw.com/   TED Talks: https://www.ted.com/talks

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   Gary Reloj is Co-founder of the PPE Relief Initiative, an entrepreneur in the tech startup and restaurant industry, a founding board member of The Promise Society, and a COVID-19 survivor.    In late March, Gary shared a public Facebook post, that was a very well-documented account of COVID-19 symptoms he’d experienced, the toll it took on his body, and specific things that he did to cope with the physical discomfort, and anxiety that it brought on. He had come down with symptoms early on, even before New York City went on lockdown and when testing was still not widely available. It was clear that he had written his post as a way to help others who had also contracted COVID-19 or were worried about possibly contracting it. In the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic, every little cough, sniffle or bit of malaise sent a lot of us into a panic.    Around that time, I also learned that Gary was spearheading an effort to get PPE (personal protective equipment) to health care workers. That effort became the PPE Relief Initiative (PRI) with a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe to raise $30,000 to give PPE kits to 400 healthcare workers.    Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   How Gary dealt with and recovered from having COVID-19 The Facebook post that Gary wrote and publicly shared detailing his COVID-19 symptoms and the regime he followed in dealing with his symptoms What motivated Gary to start looking for a way to deliver PPE to healthcare workers Gary’s PPE Relief Initiative Co-founder Dr. Joanne Kwan How they determined what to include in the PPE Relief Initiative supply kit that they were going to give health care workers The challenges they encountered in obtaining high quality PPE The PRI team Why the PRI supply kits are delivered directly to health care workers rather than to hospitals The GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign for PRI to raise $30,000 to support 400 healthcare workers There is still room for around 200 for healthcare workers that live or work in the New Jersey/New York metropolitan area and are dealing with COVID-19 patients to apply for the PRI supply kits How they prioritize which healthcare workers will receive the PRI supply kits first The partnership with The Promise Society on the PRI’s GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign PRI’s support for Black Lives Matter protesters and tips for how protestors should protect themselves and be safe while protesting during this pandemic Being prepared for a possible second wave of COVID-19 cases What’s next for PRI after the GoFundMe campaign How having COVID-19 has affected Gary’s outlook on life   Related Links: PPE Relief Initiative’s GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign: http://pperelief.org/donate or https://bit.ly/2Y7JguX   Eligible healthcare workers can apply for the PRI supply kits here: www.pperelief.org/apply   PPE Relief Initiative’s website: https://pperelief.org/   PRI’s social media accounts:   PRI on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ppe.relief/   PRI’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ppe.relief.initiative/   Cuomo's words really resonated with me and I used the phrase “New York Tough” to help get my mind right and out of the negative mental trench I was in. If you have Covid-19 or someone you know has it, and you’re looking for someone to talk to about the experience, please don’t hesitate to reach out. When I was at my worst, I was partly in a bad place mentally because I felt so helpless and clueless as to how long my symptoms were going to last. I seriously wish I had someone I could talk to at a human level that could relate to what I was experiencing so if I could do that for you, please let me know. That said, here is the full list of symptoms I experienced... -Fever (ranged between 100 and 102). My fever lasted for four days. -Chronic dry coughing. It came from deep within my chest and at times, would have bad coughing fits. One coughing session was so bad, my core stomach muscles cramped up and I started to gag because I just couldn’t breathe…. That really sucked! -Difficulty breathing. This was the big one. Any form of simple physical activity would make it hard to breathe; you almost feel like you’re drowning it’s like an asthma attack. If I got out of bed to go to the bathroom, or if I would try to eat food, I would be gasping for air with short, shallow, quick breaths. It was extremely difficult to take deep breaths (still is to an extent). The only way I’d be able to breath normally would be to lay down in bed on my side. -Dehydration. This was especially bad when I was on my 2nd day of my fever and was coughing up a storm. -Chills. This also occurred on the 2nd and 3rd day of my fever. -Loss of appetite. Not only was I not hungry, but when I did eat, it was actually hard to breathe while eating, so that contributed to my loss of appetite. -Confusion. This again was on the 2nd day, early in the morning. I just woke up and I felt like I was still in dream mode, and I kept trying to tell my body move, but it felt like I was stuck and was confused to where I was. -Diarrhea. -Fatigue -Loss of smell. My taste was also a bit dulled, especially with sweets. -Body aches. This was actually my first symptom. It first started with body aches like sciatica. I then had back pains, lower and upper back. -Anxiety. There were moments where my mind was in a very bad place, especially when it was very hard to breathe. I started to get anxiety thinking about every breathe and as a result, it would disrupt my breathing cycle. When I would have major anxiety, I would try to calm myself by playing meditation music and do my best to have my mind escape reality for a minute to help regulate my breathing again. Eventually, as a way to combat future anxiety, I would create structure around me to keep me busy and help me cope. For example, I documented all my symptoms under a certain timeline, I documented my medication and tried to create a set schedule, and I made sure to reach out to friends for support. Here’s the lineup of meds I took and how often: -Tylenol Extra Strength, 3000mg daily, or 2 pills 3x a day. This was probably the most important thing I was taking. -Mucinex DM, 1 tablet every 12 hours. This helped act as a cough suppressant. -Cepacol Extra Strength. Take as needed. This helped numb my throat. While I know my coughing originated more from my chest and not my throat, it gave me peace of mind to take Cepacol before I slept. -Pedialyte. Unfortunately I didn’t have any, but my friend who also had Covid-19 was using it to help with dehydration and if I could do it all over again, I would have included it in my rotation. -Ton of water. I can’t stress how important it is to have available water by your side. I would have a big pitcher of water by my bed at all times and when I could manage to get out of bed, I always made sure to re-fill my pitcher even if it’s 70% full. Here’s the timeline of everything (this was the diary I kept). 03/11: Suspected date of exposure 03/14: Noticed body aches, like sciatica. 03/15: Back aches, lower and upper back. Mild diarrhea. 03/16: Experience slight fatigue. Back pain and sciatica pain increases. Start to have mild cough. 03/18: Lose sense of smell. Fatigue increases big time. Cough starts to become more frequent. Start to feel warm under eyelids at night. Mild diarrhea continues. Appetite still normal. 03/19: Cough and fatigue becomes worse. Headaches occur. 03/20: Chronic coughing begins. Fever occurs 101 degrees. Loss of appetite begins. 03/21: Very bad coughing fits, difficulty breathing. Fever still at 101 degrees. Extremely fatigued. Experienced cold chills as well. Further loss of appetite. Difficulty sleeping. 03/22: Coughing is still terrible, at times difficult to breathe. Energy and appetite was okay in the morning, decreased as day progressed. Difficulty sleeping. Breathing is still bad. 03/23: Becoming more thirsty. Woke up and fever wasn’t so bad. Early evening suffered worst coughing fit. Night fever is back, 101. Worst night of sleep. Breathing is still bad. 03/24: Lower back really hurts, but could be due to uncomfortable bed. Felt better for most of the day, around 3:30pm start to feel worse. Managed to get myself under control after taking Tylenol and shower around 3:40pm. Improved appetite and energy. No fever. Breathing ability hasn’t improved. 03/25: Breathing is still effected. The simplest form of physical activity creates shallow breathing, elevated breathing rates. 03/26: Energy and appetite continues to improve. Coughing slightly improved; starting to produce some phlegm. Breathing is still the same. 3rd day of no fever. Spoke with Doctor, said plateau of symptoms is a good sign, as Covid-19 is progressive in nature. Still have diarrhea. 03/27: Feel exponentially better. Breathing is much improved, although still can’t take deep breaths without coughing. Coughing overall is down. Again, no fever. Energy is up, able to sit up without trouble, was able to walk and spend time outside. 03/28: Diarrhea seems improved. Still coughing a little. Breathing still improved. Still no fever. Anyway, I hope this helps! AND STAY HOME!!   Gary Reloj’s social media accounts:   Gary on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garyreloj   Gary on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garyreloj/   Gary on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GaryReloj The Promise Society’s website: http://www.thepromisesociety.org/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:  As protests and civil unrest arise across the U.S., and tension has mounted, Talking Taiwan's host Felicia Lin was reminded of a time in which she found herself in the midst of intense protests in 2014,  in Taipei, Taiwan, after the occupation of the Legislative Yuan in what has become known as the Sunflower Movement.