Taiwan natives offer COVID help
Three people from the island do their part to fight the outbreak on the Chinese mainland
The outbreak of COVID-19 in the Chinese mainland touched the hearts of people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits. Many in Taiwan were involved in the prevention and control work alongside mainland residents.
China Daily spoke with three people from Taiwan about their experiences during the outbreak.
46, from Tainan, Taiwan, movie director in Wuhan, Hubei province
When I attended a cross-Straits activity in Wuhan in 2017, I decided the city would be a suitable place to pursue my career as a video director because of its potentially large cultural market.
The following year, I moved to Wuhan and met my business partner, a local.
Last year, we registered a company to make promotional videos and microfilms for clients. I focus on innovation and production, while my partner does the marketing.
The sudden outbreak meant we had to cancel plans for our first feature film — a love story set in the 1980s — in March, after a year of preparation.
Some sponsors wanted to pull out, but we insisted on continuing the project and waiting for the outbreak to end.
After Wuhan was locked down (on Jan 23), local authorities arranged designated flights for Taiwan residents in Hubei.
I chose to stay because I had confidence in the mainland’s ability to combat the outbreak.
I stayed home, in line with government instructions, but frequently contacted my family in Taiwan online.
People in Wuhan stayed home for 76 days. The isolation made me realize how precious freedom is. It was extremely hard to stay home without knowing when the lockdown would be lifted while hearing about deaths in the news.
I thought people in quarantine should not only protect themselves from the virus, but also from negative emotions. Those are also contagious.
We had to do something positive to distract ourselves, like writing songs, reading books or watching movies.
I enjoy playing the ukulele and singing. I wrote four songs to record my thoughts and moods in isolation.
I made videos of myself and shared them with others. My songs were not very professional or complex, but were catchy and had simple lyrics, so viewers liked them.
In the first song, I called on people to not spread rumors, to stay home and stick together.
The second praised the brave people who came to Wuhan from different places to fight the disease, including medical workers, bus drivers and many strangers who provided assistance.
The third was written after Li Wenliang — the eye doctor in Wuhan —
Hsueh Ying-tung,
died, to express my respect for him.
I wrote the fourth song before the lockdown was lifted.
Back then, I saw on TV that the number of new confirmed cases was falling daily, and everyone was very excited.
On occasion, people shouted “Come on, Wuhan!” from their windows instinctively. I was greatly inspired and moved.
In the fourth song, I wrote: Although the Yangtze River has its ebb and flow/
And the cherry blossoms may fade/ Spring will finally come here.
We started shooting our movie in June, after the city recovered.
We still encountered many problems. The rainy season in the province brought difficulties. Also, we missed the flowering season of the rhododendron, one of the movie’s main elements.
Nevertheless, we finished shooting and are now in postproduction. The film’s premiere has been postponed until next year.
The actors and crew all come from Wuhan. Having filmed in the city after the outbreak, the movie is very meaningful.
30, from Taichung, Taiwan, coffee shop owner in Fuzhou, Fujian province
Guo Yi-fan,
In February, I provided more than 1,100 free cups of coffee to medical workers at hospitals in Fuzhou as my way of thanking them for their devotion in the fight against COVID-19.
I love coffee culture. I founded my own coffee shop in Taichung, where I was born and raised, in 2014.
In 2016, I visited Fuzhou and came across a city very similar to Taichung in both culture and climate. Moreover,
the coffee industry was set to boom.
The following year I returned to Fuzhou and started my own business.
I offered coffee-making classes in a local startup center, taking advantage of preferential policies designed to help Taiwan people living on the mainland.
The workshop helped me make many friends. I gradually acquainted myself with the city. In September 2019, I opened my coffee shop with two mainland partners.
To prepare for the Spring Festival consumer boom, I returned to Taiwan before the holiday to reunite with my family.
I came back to Fuzhou on the second day of the new Chinese year, but COVID-19 pressed the “pause” button for the city and my coffee shop.
Although people felt scared, I saw news reports that medical workers had volunteered to help patients in Hubei. Moreover, traffic police, sanitation experts, community workers and volunteers all remained at their posts.
There are three hospitals near my shop. Many regulars are medical professionals. They were under pressure, so I wanted to cheer them up.
I contacted the hospitals and explained my plan. I made coffee according to the required number of cups and flavors and sent them to specified locations. The first batch was sent on Feb 3. We delivered more than 1,000 cups in about a month.
I received many thank-you messages. Some said it was a very heartwarming gesture and the doctors and nurses had drunk the coffee right after work. Some wrote: “The disease will go away and Fuzhou will get better.”
Those messages gave me courage. Many warm-hearted citizens sent hospitals
fruit and other gifts without giving their names. We locals did what we could to show respect to those who protected us.
My business has now recovered to about 60 percent of normal operations. I will open another coffee shop by the end of 2020, so the premises are being renovated.
I have also joined a local entrepreneurship and employment service center for Taiwan residents, which aims to help young people from the island who come to Fuzhou.
31, from Changhua, Taiwan, community volunteer for epidemic prevention and control in Beijing
The sudden outbreak gave me a new responsibility and experience — working as a community epidemiccontrol volunteer.
I am a postdoctoral researcher at Peking University. I came to the mainland in 2011 to study for a master’s and then a doctorate in physical education. I met my wife — a primary school teacher from Henan province — in Beijing.
Her pregnancy made travel difficult, so this was the first time I had not returned to Taiwan for the Spring Festival.
After the outbreak in Wuhan, communities across China began to take precautions. I live in a residential area in Haidian district with no confirmed cases, but strict management measures were still implemented.
Learning that my community needed volunteers, I wanted to join, having the time and being in good health. My wife supported me so long as I wore protective equipment.
On Feb 4, I signed up at the community center. The director was
Chen Wen-cheng,
surprised to learn that I came from Taiwan but appreciated my commitment very much. He put a volunteer’s armband on me. I felt a great sense of responsibility.
My job was to stand at the gates to check the entry permits and temperatures of people entering and remind them to wear masks. I felt like a guard.
I was on duty from 8 pm to 10 pm. It was snowing heavily one night. I had to rub my hands and stamp my feet to keep warm.
I usually worked with a 70-year-old resident. It was admirable that he was on the front line at his age. The work was simple and repetitive, but very important.
Some residents had to self-quarantine at home upon returning to Beijing from certain locations. We had to carry daily necessities to their homes and deliver parcels for them.
The residents were very understanding and appreciated our efforts. I have lived in the neighborhood for about five years but had seldom interacted with neighbors. Volunteering helped me become acquainted with them.
When people hear my Taiwan accent, they look at me with curiosity. They ask about my hometown, local customs and travel as well as people’s daily lives in Taiwan.
My neighbors thought it was tough for a young man from Taiwan whose wife was pregnant to volunteer. Their praise made me happy.
Since our baby was born in June, I have volunteered less. When I finish my research this year, I will become a university teacher in Beijing.
In the future, I will devote myself to more cross-Straits activities. I hope my efforts will help people on both sides.