Never-ending Caring

December 19, 2020

Teachers and disabled children at Jiangyin Children's Welfare Institute celebrate Christmas together.

In China, caregivers of children with cerebral children are struggling with family dysfunction and educational barriers, meanwhile, find themselves ostracised by society.

By Savoki Zhang in Jiangsu

After taking care of her son with cerebral palsy on her own for 13 years, Yang* feels a big weight off her shoulder after putting him in the care of a psychiatric hospital in Wuxi, Jiangsu.

Her only son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 13 months old as he could not stand on his own even when holding onto something for support. Situation deteriorated as he grew up and developed aggressive behaviours such as biting and hitting others with uncontrollable rages.

“The moment I walked out of the hospital gate, I felt relieved ,” Yang, who wants to stay anonymous, recalls the day that she separated with her beloved son four years ago like it happened yesterday.

The 46-year-old mother, who now makes a living as a lottery retailer, visits her son twice a month.

“The moment I walked out of the hospital gate, I felt relieved.”

Family Dysfunction

Cerebral palsy is the most common of all childhood disabilities.

It is caused by damage that occurs to immature brain as it develops, most often before birth. Common symptoms include poor coordination, stiff or weak muscles, and other problems such as swallowing difficulties and intellectual disabilities.

Occurring in about 2.5 per 1,000 live births in China, about five million children aged under 14 suffer from such an incurable and permanent condition across the country, with 40,000 babies born with the disorder each year, according to an epidemiological investigation carried out in 2013.

Bringing up a child with cerebral palsy is no easy task. Primary caregivers, in most cases, parents, often suffer from tremendous financial burdens, insufficient spousal support and family dysfunction.

After the diagnosis, Yang quit her job to look after her son. The father became the major breadwinner of the family and the couple divorced in 2015 after numerous rounds of fierce fights.

“I was drowning in the burden of the 24/7 caregiving mode,” she recalls.

“I suffered from severe backache and waist pain as I had to bend down every time I fed and tried to talk to my son on a wheelchair,” she says, adding her ex-husband, who worked in a multinational corporation, often left home for business trips.

“He didn’t understand the torment a mother had to endure. I quit my job to take care of our son. When my son and I were at home, I could not stop thinking about the tough times I had and the years yet to come. I thought to myself the suffering would be with me forever,” Yang says with tears streaming down her face.

“I was so lonely, exhausted and frustrated about being trapped inside such a never-ending cycle of caring. I saw no way out,” she adds.

“I was so lonely, exhausted and frustrated about being trapped inside such a never-ending cycle of caring. I saw no way out.”

For families of children with cerebral palsy, to have an outlet such as sharing problems with other parents who are going through the same situation makes a lot of difference.

“If you become one of us, you will understand how important it is to have a sense of solidarity among families with special needs children,” says Yao Zhijun, founder of Home to Slow Angels, a charity home in Hunan aiming to establish mutual help network in the special needs community.

“Merely knowing that you are understood, without having to explain yourself … is already a very comforting for these parents,” she adds.

Though incurable, early diagnosis, therapies, and proper rehabilitative measures can improve the living quality of these patients by minimising symptoms and maximising their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional potential, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States.

In China, medical expenses, which are not or imperceptibly covered by health insurance, are an enormous burden to low-income working Chinese families.

Yao says many families visit the charity home as it is close to Hunan Boai Rehabilitation Hospital, which offers free treatment to cerebral palsy children.

“Many parents dried up their savings on treatments and medicines for their children before coming here. The medical fee in other hospitals is too expensive,” Yao says.

A small show was held at Home to Slow Angels to celebrate the Chongyang Festival this year. (Photo courtesy of Yao Zhijun)

A survey published by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 2016 found that, in Chengdu, the monthly expense was around RMB ¥9,000 to 10,000 among families elected for treatment in rehabilitation centres.

Only 25 per cent of the cost was covered by New Cooperative Medical System, a government initiated insurance policy aiming to safeguard farmers’ access to basic health services and alleviate their financial burden.

In June, 2018, a nine-year-old Chinese girl was pushed into a river by her father and grandfather. They confessed of wanting to get rid of her over the fear that they could not afford taking care of the girl, Yangtse Evening News reported.

Education Barriers

Some parents however, try every means to nurture these children.

“Jie is disabled, both physically and intellectually…but I always think he deserves a chance to get in touch with the society, just like other kids of his age,” Zoey*, an entrepreneur based in Wuxi, Jiangsu, who asks to stay anonymous, says.

She found her elder son, Jie, aged 24 now, suffering from cerebral palsy when he was four months old.

But the 45-year-old mother encountered many difficulties in finding a school for her son.

“There was only one boarding school for disabled children in the whole city at that time,” she recalls. “Jie failed to get into it due to residential restrictions. I begged the principal – a truly compassionate old lady – for two years to earn him a place there,” she says.

Basic education and therapy for children aged five to 18 with special education needs were offered at the school, in accordance with the nine-year compulsory education. But the quality of education and care provided by the school was, in Zoey’s words, “far from satisfactory”.

Jie is now mostly taken care of his grandmother after graduating from special education school. (Photo courtesy of Zoey)

The school offered accommodations for more than 30 children. Most of them suffer from cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome and autism. But there were only two ‘teachers’ – both were retired female workers in their 50s, in charge of their life.

Zoey’s son once fell off from the stairs and hurt his head after being pushed by another child with attention-deficit and hyperactivity, the mother recounts.

A former teacher of Jiangyin Gold Key Special Education Centre, another special education school in Jiangsu, who only revealed her name as Chen*, says most teachers working in schools for children with special needs are neither qualified therapists nor professional trained teachers.

“Many of us were planning to quit the job if we could find a slightly better one,” Chen says.

“The pay is too low, and we are not recognised by the society or the system as teachers…We hardly get any sense of accomplishment and satisfaction,” she adds.

“We hardly get any sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.”

In China, the demand for special education professionals far outweighs its supply.

Nanjing Normal University of Special Education is the only independent college in the country specialising in training these teachers. Seventy eight universities, meanwhile, train about 7,100 students majoring in special education a year.

In June, 2020, China’s Ministry of Education issued a guideline requiring all normal colleges and faculty of education in comprehensive universities to offer special education courses in order to improve teaching to disabled children.

Social Stigma

Facing many difficulties and struggles in taking care of their children, what may be more heart-rending is the misunderstandings and discrimination caregivers are facing.

“People assume that she (my daughter) is mentally handicapped the minute they see her,” Hayley says. Her daughter was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at four months old. The now eight-year-old girl has relatively mild physical symptoms with normal intellect.

Hayley*, a 38-year-old engineer, who asks to remain anonymous says her daughter is ridiculed and verbally attacked by other children.

“In early days I avoided using the word ‘cerebral palsy’ when I mentioned my daughter’s condition to the relatives at family gatherings, I would often say ‘developmental delay’ instead…I felt so ashamed,” she says.

“Cerebral palsy”, in Chinese, “Naotan”, has long been used as an insult, a synonym for “idiot, fool and useless person”.

Yang also recounts avoiding taking her son out for fear of stare-downs. “We still have a long, long way to go before having the stigma and misunderstandings removed,” the single mom laments.

“Not only children with cerebral palsy, but us caregivers, fail to be treated with dignity…and one day even we ourselves, give up treating ourselves with dignity,” Yang adds.

“Not only children with cerebral palsy, but us caregivers, fail to be treated with dignity.”

“At some point I suddenly realised I shouldn’t be the one feeling ashamed. It is the society that fails to treat her and us caregivers fairly, as a true person,” Hayley says.

*Name changed at interviewee’s request

Edited by Lasley Lui & Regina Chen

A Love-hate Relationship with Food

December 15, 2020

What is bulimia and how to break free from the negative relationship with food?

By Kassandra Lai

Yuki Chan* has struggled with bulimia for five years. “Sometimes I eat a very normal portion, but sometimes I eat two to three packs of family-size chips or three to four plates of buffet in one go,” she says.

During her teenage years, the now-19-year-old, had totally no idea of what she was undergoing.

“My biology textbook in secondary school only taught us what anorexia is but not bulimia. Most people do not exactly know what bulimia entails,” she says.

“Most people do not exactly know what bulimia entails.”

Patients suffering from bulimia nervosa, a form of eating disorder, are preoccupied with food and lose control over eating.

Binge-eating is often followed by compensatory behaviours including excessive exercises, purging, using laxatives or even starvation, in order to undo the overeating.

Chan thinks few in Hong Kong know about bulimia because it is hard to notice and diagnose.

“For bulimia, when you binge-eat, people just think you are hungry or love food, they cannot tell if it is an eating disorder,” she says.

Chan makes herself vomit to get rid of the foods that may cause her to gain weight every time after she binge eats. “The purging part of bulimia is often hidden. We do not purge in front of others,” she says.

Daisy Wu, centre in charge of the Hong Kong Eating Disorder Association says the cycle of bingeing and purging takes a toll on a patient’s health.

“Self-induced vomiting brings stomach acids up into the mouth. If this happens frequently, it can damage teeth and erode enamel. Apart from oral health problems, patients may also suffer from stomach pain and sore throat,” she says.

“Self-induced vomiting brings stomach acids up into the mouth. If this happens frequently, it can damage teeth and erode enamel.”

While bulimia is being overlooked in the city, Wu warns that bulimia could be deadly.

“Frequent vomiting can lead to extreme electrolyte imbalance, causing heart failure, which may lead to sudden death,” she says.

Amid the pandemic, the association says more people are using their hotline service.

“Patients are preoccupied with food all the time. They usually eat normal portions when they are with friends and family. But when they are alone, they crave for food and binge-eat,” Wu says.

The forced closure of gyms and fitness centres due to the pandemic has worsened the condition of bulimia patients.

“We have a patient who used to do four to five hours of high intensity exercise every day. When gyms were closed, she was very depressed and even developed suicidal thoughts,” the counsellor says.

“Hopeless and dispirited, the patient quit her job and rented a studio to hide herself. She fell into the vicious cycle of binge-eating and exercising again,” she adds.

Wu says despite the fact that patients want to break free from the negative relationship with food, the road to recovery is tough.

Body positivity event organised by Hong Kong Eating Disorders Association. (Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Eating Disorders Association)

“Many of them think they can handle the situation by themselves, so they do not seek help until their bulimic behaviors worsen,” she says.

To understand bulimia patients, Wu introduces a transtheoretical stage of change model.

“During the early stage, patients deny having problems and are often unwilling to change. But they eventually develop a proactive approach to change their behaviours. In the gradual change process, patients inevitably experience relapse,” Wu says.

“It really involves a substantial commitment of time, effort, and emotion to recover,” she adds.

Wu warns family and friends should avoid persuading patients to change their behaviours.

“This approach makes them feel being attacked and may make them hide their eating problem. Patients are very sensitive to labels of ‘being sick’ or ‘being abnormal’. It still makes some of my clients feel agitated and tearful when they talk about what they have experienced,” Wu says.

Echoing the counsellor, Leanne Wu, both a physiotherapist and an ex-bulimia patient said she felt ashamed of her eating disorder history.

“I didn’t tell anyone because I felt so ashamed and disgusting. I didn’t want anyone to know my binge and purge habit,” she says.

“I didn’t tell anyone because I felt so ashamed and disgusting. I didn’t want anyone to know my binge and purge habit.”

The causes of bulimia vary from person to person. It could be due to high stress levels, difficult life experiences, physical and mental health problems, low self-esteem, or even social pressure towards thinness, according to the Hong Kong Eating Disorder Association.

For Leanne Wu, her bulimic behaviors in the past seven years were mainly related to her body image.

“I was being laughed at with my thick thighs. I always thought I was not thin enough even though I was actually within the normal weight range. But I couldn’t help comparing my weight and body shape with other girls,” she says.

Feeling inferior and unconfident, Leanne Wu tried different ways to lose weight. “I used to take slimming pills. But I became so weak that there was even a time when I fainted while riding a bike,” she recalls.

“I was only in my twenties at that time, when I should be vivacious and healthy. This was when I felt a strong urge to improve my health,” Leanne Wu says.

But the physiologist says her mentality did not change much – the fear of gaining weight or getting fat still haunted her at that time.

The second turning point came when Leanne Wu started to learn about weight training after her university graduation.

“Weight training plays an essential role in my recovery and I found it really fun. To get a better body shape and build more muscles, I even did research about nutrition and learnt more about healthy eating,” the fitness nutrition specialist says.

Weight training as a turning point for Leanne Wu. (Photo courtesy of Leanne Wu)

Leanne Wu also took other practical steps to change her unhealthy routines and keep track of her recovery progress.

“I wrote diaries to take a record of dates and time I overate, what I ate and drank, where I was and how I felt after binge-eating. This helped remind me how much pain and torture I suffered because of bulimia and stopped me from falling into the cycle again,” she says.

To inspire others with her experience, she started a YouTube channel to share her bulimia story in 2019. She also films contents related to nutrition, fitness and healthy lifestyle.

“I learnt about the concept of self-love from other ex-bulimia patients, and now I want to be an inspiration for others as well,” she says.

*Name changed at interviewee’s request

Edited by Lasley Lui & Regina Chen

Yellow Couriers

December 15, 2020

Couriers in the yellow economy hope to challenge China-owned delivery giant SF Express.

By Bonita Wong

As a bid to challenge China’s courier giant, SF Express and foster the yellow economy – business owned by pro-democracy operators, Cool Chan* founded Ala Bee Express in May.

Before that, Chan owned a Chinese stew factory from 2017 to 2019. She produced and delivered wellness food products like stewed lemon with tangerine peel and herbal tea to her customers by SF Express.

“I thought of founding a courier company in 2019, but I was too busy. When the pandemic hit in February, food orders slumped and the plan resurfaced. Now, I have transformed my business to a courier company,” says Chan, in her thirties.

In June 2019, the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement triggered months of social unrest and protests in Hong Kong. Pro-democracy supporters have started building a yellow economy – an unofficial affiliation of pro-democracy businesses to boycott pro-government ‘blue’ shops and ‘red’ shops which are owned by Chinese capitals such as SF Express.

Chan joined the crusade by closing down her food factory and setting up her own courier instead of using SF Express’s delivery service.

Chan had a rough start as a one-man operation.

“I arrived at the office at 3 a.m. to pack parcels and deal with new orders. I had to enter every piece of information to excel files manually until the online ordering system launched in September. I traversed the18 districts in Hong Kong for delivery from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Still, I could only handle less than 20 orders a day during the first few weeks,” she recalls.

Cool Chan* handling delivery orders. (Photo courtesy of Cool Chan*)

“After two months of working myself into the ground, I did think of giving up. But I was expanding my business and had recruited eight employees at that time. They would be jobless if I quit. And I chose to hold on together,” Chan says.

“Many comrades (pro-democracy supporters) lost their jobs because of the pandemic or political reasons. I hope my company can create job opportunities, no matter they are short-term or long-term, and protect these people like a shield,” she says.

“We have workers facing criminal charges, but we all agree to wait for their return and not to fill the vacancies while they cannot perform duties here,” Chan adds.

“We have workers facing criminal charges, but we all agree to wait for their return and not to fill the vacancies while they cannot perform duties here.”

SF Express owns over 700 pickup points and 900 lockers in various locations providing home delivery services across the city.

“It takes Hong Kong people too long to realise SF Express has been blanketing the market for years. It is almost a monopoly,” Chan says.

Pickup points function like a post office except that delivery is done by other couriers. It is a popular delivery option among office workers and students who are often not at home to collect parcels in regular hours.

“Yet I don’t think it is impossible to rock the boat. I hope that one day when Hong Kong people want to deliver a parcel, they will think of Ala Bee Express rather than SF Express,” Chan adds.

King Kong Express is another fledgling “yellow” delivery service provider with nearly 100 pickup points now.

“SF Express has far more pickup points and it is a more convenient option. But it is infamous for breaking and losing packages, not to mention poor customer services,” says Nut Liu*, founder of King Kong Express.

Liu is a recent graduate who has no experience in doing logistics. She set up the company in May after only a month and a half of preparation.

“I hope Hong Kong people could stand in solidarity. We will never forget what happened and will work hard to sustain the yellow economy,” Liu says.

“I want people to have options other than SF Express. Youth is my greatest asset. I started without cars, employees nor website. I simply use Google form and WhatsApp for orders,” she adds.

“Youth is my greatest asset. I started without cars, employees nor website. I simply use Google form and WhatsApp for orders.”

The courier company mainly promotes itself by Instagram. The account has around 7,880 followers now. “Yet our Instagram followers growth is still too low,” Liu says.

Liu and her team are struggling with many difficulties.

“We lack computer science talents. Our website is built free of charge by a retired uncle. There are time constraints when we need any updates on the webpage, as he is not always available like a full-time worker,” Liu says.

“Managing pickup points is harder than I thought. Pickup points’ staff are the ones to deal with customers after all. Some of them have lousy attitudes but I can’t do much about that as I don’t own them,” Liu adds.

“The competition is tough, but I don’t see other yellow delivery service providers as rivals. We should leverage complementary strengths and collaborate to jostle a bigger slice of the pie. The high wall is the only ultimate enemy against the side of the egg,” Liu says.

Hannah Lee*, a university student, uses yellow delivery service whenever it is available even the service is not as convenient. “I want to support the yellow economy and cut down the use of SF Express,” Lee says.

When using pro-democracy delivery service company, Lee finds there are some inconveniences like failing to receive notice for package pick up, unclear directions to pickup points.

“But these are just minor problems and they won’t affect my choice,” Lee adds.

*Name changed at interviewee’s request

Edited by Lasley Lui & Regina Chen

VPN- To Use or Not to Use?

December 15, 2020

Oversea student cannot use Youtube without VPN in China — Students cannot use Youtube without VPN in China.

Chinese students of overseas universities use VNP which is banned in China for online class.

By Coco Zhang in Shaanxi & Vivian Cao in Yunnan

“I cannot continue my study if I do not have the Virtual Private Network (VPN) services,” David Chen* says. He is a student of Simon Fraser University (SFU).

Chen cannot go back to his school in Canada due to the pandemic. He needs to use ZOOM to conduct online classes and check his Gmail mailbox for daily communication with his school, as he is trapped at home in Kunming, Yunnan.

Gmail and Google services have been banned in China since 2013. Only people with a VPN can use them.

Chen’s school does not provide an official VPN for Chinese students. So, he has to buy private VPN service, which is banned in China, for his study.

VPN is a kind of service that can help users bypass the Chinese “Great Firewall” to visit websites outside the firewall, such as YouTube, Facebook and the instant messaging application WhatsApp.

Chen understands the risks of using private VPN service. “I face a choice between breaking the law to continue my study and obeying the law to suspend my study. I prefer to choose the former one. Because I’m a student, and doing my study is not a crime,” Chen says.

“I face a choice between breaking the law to continue my study and obeying the law to suspend my study.”

Chinese VPN Policy and Government’s Punishments to Illegal VPN Users

The Chinese government introduced the Internet Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Management of International networking of Computer Information [中華人民共和國計算機國際聯網管理暫行規定] in 1996 and revised it in 1997.

This regulation stipulates that no one can use VPN services provided by companies or individuals without an official approval of operating virtual private networks. Offenders might receive warning from the police and are subject to a fine of RMB ¥15,000 (US $2714).

Offenders would not be punished before 2017 because the law was not enforced. The Chinese government tightened network policy in 2017.

On January 22, 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China issued a circular on improving and standardizing network access [關於清理規範互聯網網絡接入服務市場的通知]. This regulation requires the monitoring of VPN services for internet security concerns.

Phil Huang is a Year Three student majoring in computer science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He thinks the government should relax the VPN policy in response to the daily needs of the people.

“Lots of people are using VPN, especially oversea students and workers. They are trapped at home due to the pandemic. VPN is a necessity for them to work and study,” Huang says.

He thinks the government should abolish the Great Firewall. “In this new era, people should get to know what happens outside China, and they have the right to read news and enjoy access to information,” the 20-year-old student says.

VPN is essential for Huang’s study. He uses illegal VPN service to gain access to CUHK’s e-learning resources and download overseas programming software during the pandemic. “Should I be arrested for just using a private VPN for study?” he questions. According to a research conducted by China Internet Network Information Center in April, 2020, there were 904 million netizens in China. An internet traffic analysis platform, StatCounter shows that Google held a 2.04 per cent share of China’s search market in 2020.

“Should I be arrested for just using a private VPN for study?”

Although many people still use and sell illegal VPN services, only a few are arrested by the police. “The Chinese government uses a few cases to perform the waring function and demonstrate its tight control over the network,” Mary Li*, a staff member working in an internet security company in Xi’an, Shanxi, says.

Li thinks the public has easy access to illegal VPN, and it is convenient to use. Users can start using it for study, work, and entertainment after downloading an app. The monthly fee is about RMB ¥30 (US $4).

“The Chinese authorities cannot get full control of the private VPN market. They hope users can be deterred by possible legal consequences and stop using illegal VPN by making a few cases as examples to scare off those who want to use the illegal service,” the 35-year-old woman explains.

Chinese Overseas Students are Facing a Dilemma

The Chinese government only allows three mobile communication companies to provide legal VPN services. They are China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom.

Legal VPN services are only available to government offices and enterprises engaged in import and export trade with authorized qualification from the government.

A corporate VPN user has to pay RMB ¥14,600 (US $2,224) for 10-45 Megabyte per second (MB/s) a month to access the legal VPN services, according to China Unicom’s official website.

“Members of the public cannot apply for legal VPN services. Oversea students cannot even use it for their study,” says Peter Zhang*, who works for China Telecom.

Many Chinese oversea students cannot return to campuses in other countries due to COVID-19. They have to attend online classes at home via ZOOM or Google Meet and search for online resources through school library websites or Google Scholar. Some also have to use a VPN for submitting assignments.

CUHK provides official VPN services to support mainland Chinese students. But the service is unstable, especially when the national leaders hold conferences or during public holidays.

Nicole He, a Year Three student, has an official VPN provided by the school, but she cannot use it most of the time.

“It (CUHK VPN) causes me so much trouble,” he says. She asks for help from the Information Technology Service Center whenever she cannot use the official VPN service.

“Once my professor changed the deadline of an assignment and made an announcement on Blackboard. But the CUHK VPN connection crashed that week. So, I could not log in to Blackboard to read the notice. I missed the deadline,” the 21-year-old student who majors in cultural studies recalls.

That assignment counts 40 per cent of her total grade. She is considering dropping the course. Though she has paid for private VPN service, she has to bear the risk of being arrested for using private VPN in mainland China.

Return to CUHK for Free Access to Information

Ally Xu, a final year student of CUHK, shares his problem and decided to leave home in Zhejiang for Hong Kong, where she can enjoy free access to information. She returned to CUHK campus on October 3 and underwent a 14-day quarantine in a school dormitory.

“Unstable network connection is one of the reasons why I decided to return to Hong Kong,” Xu says. She started using an illegal VPN in mainland China in late January this year, and the service was unstable.

“I have heard about a case in which a man was arrested just because he used an illegal VPN service for entertainment. I don’t want to take any risks,” the economic major student adds.

“I have heard about a case in which a man was arrested just because he used an illegal VPN service for entertainment. I don’t want to take any risks.”

University College London student Zhang Zihan understands the risks of using illegal VPN services, but she still insists on using it. The Year Two student has been trapped in Chongqing since February.

“I have no choice. The pandemic situation in the U.K. is gloomy. Lockdown is imposed from time to time,” the computer science major student says.

“I don’t want to break the law, but I don’t want to take the risks of being infected either,” she adds.

*Name changed at interviewee’s request

Edited by Lasley Lui & Regina Chen

Preserve Muscles, Preserve Youth

December 14, 2020

Cover — Ted Ho performed lunges to train his leg muscles.

Middle-aged and elderly people do strength training to slow down the ageing process and improve their quality of life.

By Linn Wu in Taipei

At 6 a.m., Jenny Chen, 63, walks into a gym where a few young adults are exercising.

“I invest in my health. I have been exercising for about 30 years, mostly swimming and jogging. To avoid muscle loss and body aches when I get older, I began strength training three years ago to stay in shape and preserve my muscles,” the businesswoman says.

Ageing Research Reviews in 2018 reported people lose almost 10 per cent of muscle mass every decade from middle age.

Chen trains every morning before work, alternating between strength training and cardio workouts.

“I started exercising for better recovery after giving birth. I was highly stressed at work and often woke up feeling upset. A morning workout always cheers me up and helps me stay fresh in the office,” she says.

Jenny Chen did strength training at 6 a.m.

“Strength training is good for my everyday life. It teaches me how to improve my posture and prevent a back strain. Ballroom dancing becomes easier too. Strong core and leg muscles allow my upper body to move more freely. I can even sing higher notes now,” Chen adds.

Although Chen often encourages her friends who are also in their sixties to exercise, they lack motivations.

“Many fear workout injuries. In the past, people thought strength training meant lifting heavy weights. But we actually start with a light load and build it up progressively. There is a risk of injury in whatever sports you do,” Chen says.

“Many friends in my age rarely exercise. They even consider walking exhausting, let alone training. My lady friends would rather cover their bingo wings instead of improving them,” she says.

“Many friends in my age rarely exercise. They even consider walking exhausting, let alone training.”

To enhance physical function and reduce the risk of falls, the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in September, 2020 advised adults aged over 65 to do multicomponent physical activity which includes balance training, aerobic activity, and muscle-strengthening activities on a weekly basis.

Yang Yijian, an expert on physical activity in ageing and assistant professor of the Department of Sports Science and Physical Education at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, says that strength training cannot be replaced by aerobic exercise.

“We need to maintain muscle strength to perform daily activities,” Yang says, adding that running and biking are not as beneficial to strength as resistance training such as lifting weights. “Strength training improves our control of movements,” he says.

“Strength training improves our control of movements.”

Yang points out falls are common among seniors.

“About 30 per cent of older adults living at home and over half of those staying in nursing homes fall at least once a year. Possible injuries from falls include a hip fracture which can cause severe complications such as loss in mobility and death,” he says.

According to the Department of Household Registration Affairs in Taiwan in 2019, more than 3.6 million citizens were above 65 years old, accounting for 15 per cent of total population.

The Census and Statistics Department in Hong Kong reported there were more than 1.3 million seniors in mid-2020, making up 18.3 per cent of the city’s population.

Yang says muscle strength enables people to protect themselves and minimise the risk of injury.

“When people with enough strength lose balance, they can avoid bumping their heads by taking a step forward or putting hands on the floor first. But we found many protective responses in falls ineffective due to a lack of muscle strength,” Yang explains.

“Resistance training also strengthens bone density and that reduces vulnerability to fractures,” he adds.

Lee Li-chun, 52, joined a gym three years ago when she suffered from menopause discomfort such as anxiety. She tried strength training nine months later in hope of improving her back pain.

Lee Li-chun practised deadlifts in her training sessions.

“I realised that I need to train and stay strong to support myself, or no one will take care of me,” Lee says. The homemaker had to use a wheelchair when she first threw her back out two years ago.

“My lower back used to be so stiff in the morning that I walked slowly to the washroom with my hands on a wall like a zombie,” Lee says.

Her situation improves after more than a year of training. “Only one can save oneself. If you don’t exercise, no one can help,” she adds.

“Only one can save oneself. If you don’t exercise, no one can help,” she adds.

Her situation improves after more than a year of training. “Only one can save oneself. If you don’t exercise, no one can help,” she adds.

“Only one can save oneself. If you don’t exercise, no one can help.”

Lee does resistance and aerobic training five days a week as she understands progress takes time and effort.

“My body conditions may be almost the same as others in my age. But the differences will be huge five to eight years later when we approach our sixties. Those who never work out will age quickly and suffer from body pain while I can manage to stay in a better shape,” she says.

Although Lee acknowledges the benefits of strength training, they do not come cheap.

“Money is a big issue. Hiring a coach is necessary for one to train safely and constantly,” Lee says. She pays for 80 training sessions with NT $1,550 (US $54) each and her gym membership costs more than NT $1,000 (US $35) a month.

“There is no return for me. I will find a gym wherever I go and keep exercising, with or without a trainer,” Lee says.

Ted Ho, 68, shares Lee’s view. The retired businessman hurt his back during exercise in his twenties and had suffered from the pain for more than ten years. But he gives strength training a second try.

“My back became weaker after the injury, so I use a leg press machine instead of squatting with a bar on my back,” he says.

Ho took strength training classes for six months from late last year to early this year and learned alternative exercises such as lunges.

Ted Ho replaced squats with a leg press machine to avoid hurting his back again.

“I never challenge my capacity. I exercise merely to maintain muscle strength and prevent muscle soreness after doing household chores,” says Ho, who lives alone and has been training for more than seven years.

Chou Chi-feng, a 32-year-old private trainer, has coached more than 10 seniors aged from 65 to 77 years.

He finds most of his clients start training too late. “In the first session, some could not even do two sets of squats with 10 times each without bearing any weight,” he says.

Chou thinks it is important to help the elderly build confidence as they fear heavy training loads and exercise injuries.

“I always assure them the weights are within their capacity to give them a sense of security,” he says. Chou usually provides additional assistance such as handles in the first few tries and removes it later.

According to CDC, even if one has problems doing normal daily activities, such as climbing stairs or walking, regular physical activity is still safe and good.

In response to common misunderstanding, Yang clarifies that strength training can be easily done at home. “Lifting heavy weights or doing high intensity training is not necessary,” he says.

Yang suggests people make use of water bottles, elastic bands, or stairs to train progressively.

“It’s never too late [to start exercising]. Even those up to 80 years old can still benefit from strength training.”

“You can hold on to a chair to prevent falls and do squats to train your lower limbs. To improve balance, you can try standing with one leg. It also trains your muscle strength if you hold the position longer,” he says.

Yang adds daily activities such as grocery shopping and cooking are also important for the elderly to maintain independence.

“It’s never too late [to start exercising]. Even those up to 80 years old can still benefit from strength training. Some research even shows people with frail bodies improve more,” Yang says.

Edited by Lasley Lui & Regina Chen

Trapped in Campus

December 14, 2020

2) The gate of the university campus was closed and machines are placed to indentify everyone that enter and leave campus — The gate of the university campus at Chengdu's Southwestern University of Finance and Economics was closed and machines are placed.

Most universities in Mainland China have relaxed restrictions on leaving campus, after students protested to voice their discontent.

By Gloria Wei in Harbin & Lynne Rao in Luzhou

A protest against campus quarantine policy broke out in Xi’an International Studies University student hostels on the night of September 20, 23 days after the policy was implemented. Students living on campus shouted slogans like ‘let me out’ from their hostels for about half an hour.

The chanting was so loud that Daisy Wu*, a Year Three student majoring in tourism management, was woken up.

“I went to bed earlier than usual after an exhausting day and was awakened by screams at around 11 p.m. I guess hundreds of students joined the protest,” she says.

Similar protest was held on other university campuses across China.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, university students were banned from leaving their campus freely since late August. Students were required to seek official approval for leaving campus, while university staff such as professors and lecturers could come and go freely.

Notice informing students cannot go out freely.

Wu was not surprised with the protest because most of her peers were unhappy with the campus lockdown.

“As we could not go out freely and order takeaway food, we had to rely on stores on campus to buy things. But the prices increased sharply,” Wu says.

“And the water supply system in hostels was broken the day before the protest,” she adds.

After the protest, Xi’an International Studies University relaxed the restriction and took actions to upgrade campus facilities such as fixing water supply system for students.

“Prices of goods at campus stores have gone down, and food delivery service has resumed,” Wu says.

“I went home for the national holiday. It is great that now we don’t have to stay at school all the time anymore,” she adds.

Students getting takeaway food through fences. (Photo courtesy of Ruby Tang)

Students in other universities were also furious about the quarantine policy on campus.

Many students expressed their anger by leaving satire comments: “As we all know virus only infects students” and “Students and dogs are not allowed to go out” under the official account of the People’s Daily on Weibo, the Chinese twitter.

Responding to the protests, Wang Dengfeng, an official in charge of virus prevention at the Ministry of Education, said in a press conference on August 27: “Universities should not prohibit students from leaving campus and they can go out if necessary” and “Students and staff should be treated equally”.

But most university campuses did not revoke the quarantine policy at once, students continued complaining that it was still hard for them to go out.

A thread entitled “Should universities adopt closure management?” was read for more than 300 million times until September 7 on Weibo.

Emily Mao, a law major student who studies in a university located in Kunming, capital city of her hometown, Yunnan, has to climb a wall secretly to leave the campus every weekend since September. She is not willing to reveal the name of her university for fear of being penalised.

According to a regulation enforced by her faculty, students cannot go out unless they have a written request for leave signed by a counselor, an associate dean and the vice secretary of the faculty.

“The Ministry of Education’s remarks cannot satisfy me because the definition of ‘if necessary’ is vague. I think going home regularly to get clothes is necessary, but the university does not think so,” she says.

“I think going home regularly to get clothes is necessary, but the university does not think so.”

The 20-year-old girl tried applying for leaving campus to have a week-long of national holiday at home. But her request got rejected on September 29 because the university management thought the leave period was too long.

On the next day, Mao climbed a wall and had dinner in a restaurant with several other friends who also left campus without permission.

After the national holiday, climbing wall to go out was strictly prohibited because more and more students began to do so.

The university arranged staff to patrol around the wall. Students caught leaving campus without permission will be punished, and the incident will be marked in their files.

“This may affect us when we apply for postgraduate program and look for jobs,” Mao says.

Guards checking everyone who enters and leaves school. (Photo courtesy of Nancy Luo)

The university quarantine policy also affected students’ internship opportunity.

Alice Zhao, a Year Three student studying accounting at Qingdao University of Science and Technology, was forced to give up her internship opportunity at an accounting company in Qingdao.

She received an offer in summer this year and was required to work in the office two days every week. “I had to reject the offer, as it was too inconvenient to leave campus,” Zhao says.

“I must ask my tutor for permission every time before I go to work,” she adds.

“I had to reject the offer, as it was too inconvenient to leave campus.”

Although students are outraged by the quarantine policy, Wang Mu*, a professor and tutor at the Harbin Normal University, thinks that the policy is reasonable and necessary.

“To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the university has to limit people’s mobility as much as possible. Since most teachers are also husbands or wives who need to take care of children and the elderly in the family, the universities can only limit students going out.” Wang says.

In early September, Harbin Normal University decided to relax quarantine regulation after student protest erupted at Harbin Guangsha University. Harbin Guangsha University also lifted the restriction after the protest.

“Actually, university management cares about what students think. That is why students now can go to restaurants and movie theatres freely,” Wang says.

Most universities in China have relaxed quarantine restrictions after the national holiday which covers the first week of October.

But the policy may be introduced again because of the uncertainty of the pandemic, especially during winter.

The quarantine policy adopted by universities in Qingdao become stricter after three confirmed cases were reported in the province on October 11.

Alice Zhao*, who is studying accounting at the Qingdao University of Science and Technology, says it is even more difficult to go out of school now.

Students of Qingdao University of Science and Technology need to ask for approval before leaving campus. (Photo courtesy of Alice Zhao)

“The pass card used to enter and leave campus is cancelled, and requests of leaving campus are less likely to be approved,” Zhao says.

*Name changed at interviewee’s request

Edited by Lasley Lui & Regina Chen

Period Poverty in China

December 20, 2020

menstrual pads in a supermarket in China — Menstrual pads in a supermarket in China.

Girls from poor families use toilet paper, homework paper and even shreds of old clothes, as they cannot afford to buy tampons.

By Alice Wang in Shandong

Amy* is a fifth-grade girl of a primary school in Guizhou, China. The 11-year-old had menstruation for the first time on October 19.

“I asked my dad to give me RMB ¥30 (US $4.4) for sanitary napkins. But he refused and scolded me that I should feel ashamed of shedding so much blood every month,” Amy cries.

“He refused and scolded me that I should feel ashamed of shedding so much blood every month.”

Amy’s mother has left home to look for jobs and her father is a gatekeeper at a factory. The monthly income of the whole family is around RMB ¥1600 (US $235). The family cannot afford to buy sanitary napkins every month. Amy and her mother have to use toilet paper during menstruation period.

Amy’s family is one of the millions who are living in poverty in China. “There are about 600 million people whose monthly incomes are under RMB ¥1000 (US $147) in China,”, says Chinese Premier Li in the third session of the 13th National People’s Congress in Beijing on May 28.

Wang Wenjun, founder of UU Love Public Good Union says girls in poverty-stricken areas cannot afford to buy sanitary pads. “Girls in poverty-stricken areas would rather walk for two and a half hours in order to save RMB ¥5 (US $0.7) for a car ride,” she says.

Wang says that girls from poor families use toilet paper, homework paper and even shreds of old clothes, as they cannot afford to buy tampons.

“Even if they can buy a sanitary napkin, they reuse many times. That may pose health risks,” Wang adds.

“Even if they can buy a sanitary napkin, they reuse many times.”

In August, netizens had a heated discussion about period poverty on the social media platform Weibo and a post featuring a picture of 100 sanitary napkins being sold at RMB ¥21.99 (US $3.2) – a price that is much lower than that of well-known manufacturers in China on Taobao, an e-commerce platform. Manufacturer of the sanitary napkins is unknown, and they are not packaged in bags.

About 247 thousand messages were recorded under the social media post, and many women admitted that they did not know some low-income women could not afford tampons till they read the Weibo post.

A girl being comforted by Wang Wenjun. (Photo courtesy of Wang Wenjun)

“For those who live on less than RMB ¥1,000 (US $147) a month, personal hygiene is probably the last thing they care about. They have no choice but to buy substandard sanitary napkins at a low price,” Wang says.

Wang started a national initiative to enhance women’s access to sanitary products and introduce sex education for girls in rural areas in 2015.

Wang suggests the government to distribute free pads to girls in rural schools because she finds that sanitary napkins by brand manufacturers cannot be transported to shops in rural area due to poor accessibility.

“Girls can only buy poor quality pads. Many girls and even teachers have gynecological diseases because of using sub-standard sanitary pads in rural areas,” she says.

Wang thinks that handbooks about hygiene knowledge and sex education should be distributed to girls in rural areas and teaching materials should also be developed to promote health education. “Girls in rural areas are shamed for having menstruation and even shamed for being a girl,” Wang adds.

Students in sex education class. (Photo courtesy of Wang Wenjun)

Consumers in China, regardless of their gender, are given a black plastic bag if they buy sanitary pads, as if they are doing something shameful.

In October, some university students launched “menstrual pad mutual help box” campaign at more than 40 universities nationwide.

Liu Ruiming is one of the students who started this campaign at Tianjin University.

“Any woman in need can take a sanitary pad from the “menstrual pad mutual help box” for free and replenish the box later. We want to tell the public that menstruation is just a normal biological phenomenon,” Liu says.

A “menstrual pad mutual help box” in Tianjin University. (Photo courtesy of Liu Ruiming)

Liu says that girls at Tianjin University all agree it is a great idea to set up the “menstrual pad mutual help box” to help each other. And the girls hope that the campaign can be turned into a regular exercise on campus.

“But some boys criticise us and even make fun of those who take part in the campaign. I have been accused of doing a big show by some male students,” Liu adds.

“I have been accused of doing a big show by some male students.”

Liu plans to leave some post-it notes outside toilets to encourage open discussion. She is planning to hold workshops too. Students can share their experience and feelings. “I wish this can change students’ mindset, especially male students,” she says.

Liu thinks the people have changed their mind bit by bit as series of activities focusing on “period poverty” have aroused their awareness in 2020.

“It is a good start. More and more people are aware and show care about this issue now,” Liu adds.

*Name changed at interviewee’s request

Looking for “Free Periods”

While governments around the world seek to alleviate period poverty in their countries, NGO and volunteers step in to help.

By Fiona Cheung

It all started with a chat between Sara So, founder of Support Africa with trAde (SAWA), and Jessica Young, a social worker who volunteered in Kenya in the summer of 2018. In her trip, Jessica visited slums, distributed meals and gave tutorial classes to students.

“Jessica told me some girls in Kibera (the largest slum in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya) engaged in transactional sex for menstrual products. I was saddened by it.” So, who travels to Kenya frequently, recalls.

In 2019, the duo launched a programme called “We Choose” together. “I thought our organisation could mobilise people on Facebook to volunteer in the project and produce more reusable menstrual pads for the girls,” So says.

After recruiting volunteers through Facebook, So organised briefing sessions about “period poverty” problem in Kenya and held workshops on hand-made reusable pads.

According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), at least 500 million girls and women worldwide do not have what they need to manage their menstruation. The inability to manage menstruation with safety, dignity, and comfort may negatively impact the physical and mental health of those who menstruate around the world.

In the end, around 100 volunteers produced 1,000 hand-made reusable sanitary pads for 100 women and girls in Nairobi.

With her experience from SAWA, which aspires to enable Africans living with more abundance and more dignity through trade on a fair basis since its operation in 2013, So arranged the distribution of the products and taught locals how to use them.

“For many women living in the slum, sanitary pads are luxury. They often turn to other alternatives, such as old clothes, in some rural areas, even leaves and chicken feather. This jeopardises their health,” So says.

“For many women living in the slum, sanitary pads are luxury.”

“Or sometimes they may choose to stay home from school and skip school every month. It affects their study and exacerbates gender inequality,” she adds.

So points out menstruation is a social taboo in Kenya, citing a suicide case in which a 14-year-old student killed herself after being humiliated by a teacher for staining her uniform during her period in September, 2019.

In 2018, the United Nations Population Fund published a review paper in menstrual health management in east and southern Africa, stating there were schoolgirls obtaining sanitary pads in exchange for sexual relations. This situation puts young girls at risk of HIV, unwanted pregnancy and school dropout, according to the report.

So believes COVID-19 makes the situation of girls and women suffering from period poverty even more vulnerable.

“Many people become jobless due to the poor economy. Menstrual products become even more unaffordable for underprivileged women,” So says.

“Also, schools in which schoolgirls can seek protection are closed due to class suspension. Schoolgirls cannot receive free sanitary pads like before and they become more vulnerable to being impregnated by people in the community,” So adds.

In view of the impact of the pandemic, So is planning to establish local production of sanitary pads in Kenya. “In recent months, I am thinking of making the project local by training schoolgirls to produce menstrual products for themselves,” So says.

In 2004, Kenya became the first country to drop tax on imported menstrual products for girls and women. In 2011, the government also committed US $3 million to distribute free sanitary pads in schools. The distribution of “free, sufficient and quality sanitary towels” is then expanded to every girl registered at schools in 2017.

This year, Scotland is the first country in the world to make period products free after its parliament unanimously passed the Period Product (Free Provision) Scotland Bill in November. Local authorities would be required to provide free sanitary products to anyone who needs them.

Edited by Lasley Lui & Regina Chen

Decluttering amidst Pandemic

December 20, 2020

How pandemic gives rise to decluttering – a way to cope with heightened global uncertainty.

By Kelly Yu

Carmen Chan Ka-man, a 38-year-old photography assistant says the coronavirus outbreak was a turning point for her to rethink her lifestyle and start practising decluttering after she lost her job earlier this year.

“I don’t even know where to start (decluttering). It gets to a point where I feel like my whole life is a mess,” Chan says, adding that her room was cluttered with random items like receipts, accessories and small gifts, a lot of which were not even unwrapped.

She finally sought help in October from Orange Tam, a certified professional organiser providing home decluttering service in Hong Kong, after her repeated attempts to clean up her home had failed.

Tam helped Chan to remove clutter and categorise her belongings in storage boxes within a few hours, clearing out a personal space in her room where she can finally put her books and music albums. With Tam’s help, Chan says she can now tell what item is important in her life and what is not. “It is a life-changing moment for me,” she says.

Orange Tam provides home decluttering service in Hong Kong. (Photo courtesy of Orange Tam)

Organise Home to Organise Yourself

Tam created a Facebook page JuppUk (執屋) in 2016 to share decluttering tips and to offer organising service. The Facebook page has attracted more than 11,000 likes and followers as of November, 2020. It has gained about 1,000 followers during the pandemic.

Tam has seen a growing demand for decluttering service in Hong Kong due to the pandemic.

“People want to have a higher standard of living environment now as they need to work from home all day. Some clients request specifically to have their workstation cleared,” Tam says.

As the only Hongkonger certified by the U.S.-based National Association of Productivity and Organising Professionals, Tam says she hopes to advocate decluttering in Hong Kong.

She describes decluttering in a city with excess consumerism as a vicious cycle.

“We work so hard, so we buy things to treat ourselves. We end up hoarding things at home and wake up the next morning to work hard again,” Tam says. She advises clients to think twice before they buy.

“Space planning is important for optimising physical space. It helps create a clutter-free environment and boost productivity.”

According to a survey conducted by Greenpeace, a non-governmental environmental organisation, Hong Kong topped the charts in unhealthy consumerist shopping habits in 2017. 53 per cent of 1,000 Hong Kong respondents are owning clothes that they had never worn.

Tam says decluttering is not merely about throwing everything away. “Space planning is important for optimising physical space. It helps create a clutter-free environment and boost productivity,” she says.

She suggests beginners to start decluttering step by step. “Start from small corners in your house, or else it (the process) will be too overwhelming,” she says.

Chan’s room before decluttering. (Photo Courtesy of Carmen Chan)

Chan’s room after decluttering. (Photo Courtesy of Carmen Chan)

Mental Decluttering and Minimalism

Tam thinks decluttering is not just for physical freedom, but also mental freedom.“Decluttering is a journey of understanding yourself. It makes you understand more about your own needs,” she says.

“As we are tidying our stuff, we are also reviewing our past. It is a process to settle our past feelings and relationships. We will find it easier to get rid of old habits and unpleasant experiences in the past,” she adds.

“As we are tidying our stuff, we are also reviewing our past. ”

Tam is not alone in her pursuit of decluttering. Erica Ip Ka-yee, a 28-year-old tax consultant, thinks living with less has helped her to focus on the essentials in her life.

Before practising mental decluttering, Ip found it difficult to let go of others’ expectations. But now, she says she is able to commit more time to herself by journaling.

Ip set up a blog Minimalist HK in 2017 to promote a minimalist lifestyle among Hongkongers. Minimalism first emerged as an art movement in late 1960s in the United States, characterised by extreme simplicity in art-related spectrums. Today, it has become a lifestyle trend.

“Minimalism is about going back to yourself. Sometimes we are not aware that we try too hard to live up to others’ expectations. It is always beneficial to get rid of the clutter in your mind and in your surroundings to focus on what’s important,” Ip says.

Ip says keeping a clear mind is important. “The root of minimalism comes from philosophy – keeping a curious mind and exploring within yourself. It goes back to what to focus in life and how to spread this vibe to people around you,” she says.

Ip says the pandmic has forced us to go back to the basics as we have fewer travels and social gatherings.

“The root of minimalism comes from philosophy – keeping a curious mind and exploring within yourself.”

Erica Ip set up a blog Minimalist HK to promote a minimalist lifestyle among Hongkongers. (Photo courtesy of Erica Ip)

Focus on What We Can Control

Carole Bradshaw, a U.K.-based Core Process Psychotherapist and one of the directors at Integrated Medicine Institute of Hong Kong, points out decluttering can also help deal with uncertainty during the pandemic.

“The pandemic has heightened uncertainty on a global level. Our environment further affects our health. When we are surrounded by clutter, this often triggers stress responses such as anxiety,” she says.

She adds that decluttering helps to create structure and order which can reduce stress and anxiety amid the lockdown.

“Whilst we cannot control the wider effects of the pandemic, we can focus on what we can control in our environment. Clearing out our space, our homes, our desk, is one example of what we can control,” she says.

“Living more simply is less stressful and less clutter supports clarity of mind,” she says.

Edited by Regina Chen

Podcast Boom

December 19, 2020

Podcasters in Taiwan witness a growth in the industry during the pandemic.

By Charleen Chen in Hsinchu

Huang Jhih-ping spends three to four hours listening to podcasts every week. “I listen to podcasts whenever my hands are busy, such as commuting, doing the dishes, and riding a bike,” he says.

Podcasts helped the Taiwanese student, who started the habit in 2019, pass time during the pandemic when he was attending an exchange programme in Switzerland. “I was stuck in my room because all stores were closed,” he says.

“I felt bored staying in my room, so I listened to podcasts, such as the show hosted by Froggy Chiu,” he says.

Chiu is a Taiwanese politician and YouTuber, who launched his podcast in 2019 commenting on social issues in Taiwan.

The global studies major student Huang thinks podcasts are informative and entertaining. “They allow me to make better use of time. I can gain new knowledge when commuting,” he says.

Breaking Time Constraint

The term “podcasting” was coined by The Guardian journalist Ben Hammersley in 2004, who combined “iPod” and “Broadcasting”.

According to Apple, podcasts are audio shows composed of individual episodes.

Huang listens to news podcasts that address current affairs and issues on Spotify. He is a fan of Bailingguo News (百靈果News) and The Reporter (報導者).

Spotify is a Swedish-based audio and video streaming service provider, launched in 2008.

According to the company’s 2019 annual report, there were over 500,000 podcasts on the platform. The company witnessed a 200 per cent increase in podcast listening from 2018 to 2019.

“Spotify makes listening to podcasts relatively easy. I can switch between music and podcasts on one single platform,” Huang says.

University student Pang Yun-chi shares Huang’s thoughts.

“I want to learn something new by listening when my hands are busy. Listening to music turns out to be quite monotonous,” the business major student says.

Pang started listening to podcasts on Spotify in 2018, when she was commuting, cooking, and cleaning.

“I hope I can gain new knowledge from podcasts, especially language skills,” the Chinese University of Hong Kong student says.

She subscribes to chat shows in which podcasters speak in English or Cantonese, such as On the Floor and Alohagwa. “Because of the pandemic, I cannot go back to Hong Kong at the moment. But I am trying to brush up my Cantonese,” Pang says.

“I also listen to Talent Connect. You know, career preparation is the most urgent thing for seniors now. The show invites practitioners from technology industries to share their work experiences,” the Year Four student says.

Spotify witnessed a 200 per cent increase in podcast listening from 2018 to 2019.

Rapid Development in Taiwan

Kuo Yan-hsin, a part-time podcaster, has been working on user growth in SoundOn since March, 2020.

SoundOn, a Taiwanese podcast company which provides hosting service, was founded in 2019. It helps podcasters store and distribute their podcasts’ audio files.

Kuo says there are three factors contributing to the rapid development of podcasts in Taiwan.

“First, the prevalence of Chinese contents lowers the barriers to enter the industry,” she says.

She points out before SoundOn was founded, most resources for podcasters to start their business were in English, posing challenges to producers who wanted to create podcasts for Chinese audiences.

“Second, the bluetooth headsets optimise the experience of listening to podcasts. Users find wireless earphones much more convenient than traditional ones,” Kuo says.

“Lastly, the pandemic helps the podcast industry grow when listeners get more free time staying at home. They spend more time on podcasts,” she says.

According to Kuo, the total podcasts hosted by SoundOn has increased from 700 to 3,500 from April to September in 2020.

Hsieh Lu-yang is a freelanced Taiwanese podcaster. She also witnesses market growth in the industry.

“In terms of the total number of listens per episode, the number doubles from 10,000 in the first quarter to 20,000 in the third quarter of 2020,” Hsieh cited her show as an example.

Different from Kuo, she thinks the growth in podcast listening results from the increase in podcast shows. “YouTubers and KOLs who join podcasts production also contribute to the growth, since they have already built their audience base,” Hsieh adds.

Hsieh started her podcast show Sex Chat in April, 2019. “I want to record my learning process of sex and ‘debug’ the problem that women rarely talk about sex,” she says.

Hsieh interviews experts from medical field and the LGBTQ community to share sexual knowledge and advice.

“Some write me letters about their sexual concerns or thoughts,” she says. Making use of her podcast show as an open forum, Hsieh reads letters in her show. “Many audiences really like this part, because they can relate to others’ experiences,” she says.

“Those who enjoy my podcast say the content is really genuine and down-to-earth. They like the way I share my opinions from an ordinary person’s viewpoint,” she says.

“Podcasters in Taiwan have to start embedding advertisements into their shows to sustain the business.”

Tony Chou, a Taiwanese podcaster based in Toronto, says many of his audiences are commuters who love the sense of companionship of podcasts. Chou and Esther Tu, co-host of the show, launched On the Way to Work in May, 2020.

The podcast provides the latest business news every day, focusing on global economy and business. It reaches 4.9 out of 5 on Apple Podcast rating within six months.

Chou says reading news has always been his habit. He summarises news every day after the North American stock markets close, and he says the timing is good for the podcast production.

“Due to time difference, commuters in Taiwan can get the latest news in the morning,”he says.

Despite the rapid growth in the podcast industry during the pandemic, Kuo predicts the development will reach a plateau before long.

“The donations from the audiences are not enough. Podcasters in Taiwan have to start embedding advertisements into their shows to sustain the business,” she says.

Edited by Regina Chen

Health Alarm Rings

December 19, 2020

COVID-19 reminds many of how important a healthy lifestyle is.

By Charlie Yip

“I had two bowls of rice for dinner, and very often, I had ice cream for dessert,” university student Stephanie Chan says, recalling her eating habit at the beginning of the pandemic earlier this year.

Physical classes in Hong Kong were suspended and online teaching was adopted by all schools from kindergartens to universities in January this year.

Chan is also one of those affected students. Her physical activities have been greatly reduced due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Like many she has been doing her study at home and practising social distancing.

The change of lifestyle is reflected in her weight which went up to 58 kilograms in COVID-19.

“I went hiking during school suspension in February. Looking at photos taken during the hiking trip, I realised how much weight I put on. I looked really chubby!” Chan says, blaming the change of lifestyle caused by the pandemic.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has tightened social-distancing rules like mandatory mask-wearing at all public venues, limiting social gatherings and closing leisure venues and gyms since the beginning of this year.

Many Hong Kongers self-quarantine at home. They choose to work and dine at home to avoid going out.

An insurance company Sun Life conducted a survey in September this year. Findings show 52 per cent of them gained weight, and over 40 per cent of them did not exercise at all, starting from the beginning of the pandemic.

Over 900 Hong Kong people aged between 20 and 55 were interviewed about their eating and exercising habits during the pandemic period in the poll.

Acknowledging health problems brought by the change in lifestyle during the pandemic, Chan starts preparing healthy meals for herself.

“Having online classes at home allows me to cook my three meals and to think about how to eat healthier. I lost 5 kg from February to May. Now I look much better on camera,” she says.

Chan cut down carbohydrates intake at dinner from February to May. “I have reduced portions and eaten more vegetables, and also stopped eating ice cream after dinner,” she says.

Stephanie’s meal. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Chan)

Immune System is the Key

Certified international nutritionist and weight loss coach, Thomas Kwok, observes that there is a rising trend of weight gain when people try to avoid infection by staying home.

“People stay at home for too long. They consume more (food) and expend less energy,” he says.

Kwok explains that walking is the basic and easiest way to burn calories, but those who are working from home walk much less.

“All recreational activities have been restricted. Many watch movies at home, giving them a very good reason to have snacks,” he adds.

Kwok says the key to fight COVID-19 is having a strong immune system. He recalls nobody had any idea about how to fight the virus at the beginning of the outbreak.

“What people did was purely washing their hands and practising social-distancing. The importance of a strong immune system is highlighted when symptoms appear to be more severe on elderly and chronic patients,” he explains.

In June, 2020, the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong held a press conference unveiling the balance of the benign and harmful intestinal bacteria is the main immune system that combats COVID-19.

Kwok says more people have started to purchase probiotics and vitamin C supplements to enhance their immune system after learning the study results.

“People are now more conscious about their health, knowing that not every illness has a cure,” he says.

Health Taken for Granted

Lares Beauty, an online food company that provides meals that are low in calories and fat by using ingredients high in fibre such as fresh vegetables and fruits, has gained popularity during the pandemic, as more are becoming health conscious.

Founder, Eli Lam, says her business grew by 20 per cent on average from July to September, 2020.

“We have new promotion plans that are designed during the pandemic such as ‘Stay At Home Set’, consisting of meal plans for people working from home,” Lam says. It includes various meals like curry chicken, beef burgundy and braised beef etc.

“In the past, my customers consulted us on what to eat to lose weight. Now, they want to learn more about processed food, and whether preservatives and additive agents are added in my products,” Lam adds.

She recalls some young customers once told her that healthy food was not what they would choose in a promotion event before the pandemic.

But Lam now sees a change in their mindset. “They have become more health conscious after learning that anyone can be infected by COVID-19 regardless of age,” she adds.

(Photo courtesy of Lares Beauty Meal)

Energy Expenditure is Indispensable

Marcus Tong, a qualified fitness trainer and a physical education teacher, also finds the public have become more health conscious.

He has received more requests for health consultations and advice on doing exercise during the pandemic.

“Many are lacking basic cardio training like walking. I can see that my students have gained weight. They have become less willing to exercise after months of school suspension,” Tong says.

As a founder of a fitness club, Tong thinks the pandemic has changed the exercising habit of many. He says many go hiking or do water sports and some do household exercises like high intensity interval training, which is a cardiovascular exercise of alternating periods.

“After the government has decided to limit social gathering to only a few, many fitness training groups use Zoom as a communication tool to monitor progress of participants. This is an unprecedented breakthrough in exercising mode,” he says.

Marcus teaching exercise to do at home. (Photo courtesy of Marcus Tong)

The Department of Health says physical activity can boost immune system and defend the body from infections including respiratory infections.

“The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends adults to engage in at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, or at least 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity, as well as muscle-strengthening activities involving major muscle groups on two or more days a week,” a spokesperson of the department says in a written reply.

Edited by Lasley Lui & Regina Chen