Hi everyone!
I wanted to send out a newsletter earlier this month. I was in Taiwan when the Coronavirus was ramping up. It’s not joke that people are scared of this. In America, while there are talks about overhyping of the pandemic, the spread of the disease is no joke. I know a lot of people would compare it to the number of people dying from the flu and bringing up issues with people not wanting to be vaccinated. It is important to look at numbers. Taking confirmed number from 2016-2017 from CDC , the mortality rate is 0.13% while the Coronavirus is at least 2.1% (from the numbers that the China government is reporting)
Taiwanese Americans are also getting impacted by this. When I returned to America, my company issued an HR email saying that the company is following CDC guidelines and that anyone who comes from China must self-quarantine and work from home for 14 days. This led to people in the company questioning whether I need to work from home for 14 days. It is important to note that CDC travel guidelines explicitly rules out Taiwan.
A friend of mine got an email from her company, an extremely prominent financial firm, calling out that anyone that has traveled from Taiwan should also be quarantined. It is important to speak to your team and managers about the situations.
Here are some information:
- Taiwan, as of today, has 32 confirmed cases. Despite its close ties with China, it has less cases than most countries in Asia
- Taiwan, with its 32 cases has less cases than Sinapore, France, and even the state of California (33 positive cases)
So far, most that have died from the virus have had weaker physical health. Since there are no vaccines or cure for this, the human body will have to fight it off on its own. While surgicals masks are ok, it is even more important to wash your hands.
Remembering 228
What is 228?
While the selling of contraband cigarettes on February 27, 1947 is often said to be the spark of the 228 massacre, this was really the last straw of discontent of the local Taiwanese against the Nationalist government.
Read more: 228 Massacre
TaiwaneseAmerican.org has put together quite an exhaustive list of articles to learn about 228 featuring some videos such as:
- Taiwan Bar’s video on 228 (Mandarin with English subtitles)
- Taiwan Bar’s video on what DIDN’T happen on 228 (Mandarin with English subtitles)
There are also some movies to consider to learn more about the White Terror era such as Formosa Betrayed and Detention
Read the full list here at TaiwaneseAmerican.org
OFTaiwan 