Category: Others Page 2 of 14

Quietly tapping your sleeping heart, open your eyes slowly

See that past busy world is till spinning crazily as before

the spring breeze doesn’t realize how it awakens our young heart

Let the grieving tears of yesterday dried out on our face

Look up to wings in the sky, follow the trace of seasonal birds

Bring news of famine and ruthless wars that are still existing in the distance

White snow drifts on mountain and our young hearts are bouncing

Let’s true feelings melt into notes

Reach out your arms and sing out your passion

Let me embrace your dreams, let me hold your genuine face

Let our smiles full of youthful pride and devote our sincere pray for tomorrow

Who can not caring own home and ignore the childhood memories

Who can let sorrows of yesterday take away our smiles

We probably don’t understand because of young and innocent

Today let the long-lost tears nourish our face again

Sing out your passion and reach out your arms

Let me embrace your dreams, let me hold your genuine face

Let our smiles full of joyful pride and devote our sincere pray for a better tomorrow

Quietly tapping your
sleeping heart, open your eyes slowly

See that past busy world
is till spinning crazily as before

the spring breeze doesn’t
realize how it awakens our young heart

Let the grieving tears of
yesterday dried out on our face

Look up to wings in the
sky, follow the trace of seasonal birds

Bring news of famine and
ruthless wars that are still existing in the distance

White snow drifts on mountain and our
young hearts are bouncing

Let’s true feelings melt into notes

Reach out your arms and sing out your
passion

Let me embrace your dreams, let me hold
your genuine face

Let our smiles full of youthful pride and
devote our sincere pray for tomorrow

Who can not caring own home and ignore the
childhood memories

Who can let sorrows of yesterday take away
our smiles

We probably don’t understand because of
young and innocent

Today let the long-lost tears nourish our
face again

Sing out your passion and reach out your
arms

Let me embrace your dreams, let me hold
your genuine face

Let our smiles full of joyful pride and
devote our sincere pray for a better tomorrow

Since the first outbreak of COVID-19 happened in WuHan when doctors and nurses were doing their best to save live in hospitals and citizens were doing their best to follow the lock-down policy in order to reduce the burden to the medical helps that are need to the Coronavirus fight in that most critical and horrified moment, specialists in different disciplines have been working closely in China, including virus and medical research experts for medicine and vaccine, in meantime, there were many experts in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicines) and tea research area started to deepen their research from the past health benefits to specifically against the virus reactions or immunity system research; such researches  are still ongoing today.

When the effective curing medicines that don’t create other health problems and proven effective vaccine are not yet available, there are more and more people turning their head to find ‘solutions’ from tea.

Before we enter the discussion about what can tea do for us to fight against COVID-19 virus, I think it is important to establish a clear understanding and repeat the fundamental professional protocols that we need to follow:

1. Tea does can provide many health benefits but shouldn’t consider tea as cure to disease.
2. Whenever you have healthy, always suggest to check with your family doctor and/or specialist before following from what were written in books or social medias by anyone, neither from so-called “Guru” nor amateurs.
3. Those who would like to be seen and respected as ‘tea sommelier’ definitely should take the responsibilities more strict, we can share and give suggestions based on confirmed scientific research data and facts, but may not play the doctor or medicine specialist roles.

I am very fortunately to have Prof. Wang FangCheng from Academia Sinica from Beijing, as good friend who I share the same passion for the facts and data researches in tea.  So whenever I read something interesting on line, I have a ‘double-checking windows’ to verify the accuracy and authenticity about the scientific research.

There are indeed two major tea research centers in China are devoting their resources and expertise to deepen their researches in tea and both have very encouraging progress  that related to the researches to Coronavirus, one is Zhejiang University Agriculture Department and the other one is Yunnan Agriculture University.

According to the Director of Research Center lead by Prof. Wang XuanJun, actually the FDA from USA has already approved the use of plant derived tea polyphenols for external use in 2006, which is used to treat diseases caused by virus.  Therefore research in antivirus functions from tea polyphenols is an important focus by tea research experts. Since the outbreak happened in WuHan, his team has deepened the research on tea polyenols for Coronavirus.

Prof. Wang’s research does not limit to Camellia sinensis only, actually in his lab his teams have tried to isolate 800 compound structures from 110 plants, including tea, honeysuckle and grapes; the computerized analysis showed 20 compounds have the potential to bind the S protein on the surface of the virus.  “Of course, there is potential gap between computerized analysis vs. reality that we need to investigate further”, according to Prof. Wang.  Prof. Wang and his teams so far have continue the actual binding test in which they discovered five compounds are preferred, and block experiments are performed at the molecular level. The blocking experiment means when compounds are present whether can block the virus from binding to the receptor.  If compounds can’t block the virus from binding, then it is meaningless with the claim for unite.

Based on the current research result, they discovered EGCG, a catechin monomer component in tea polyphenols in tea, can effectively block the binding of S protein to receptor ACE2 and almost 6 EGCG can achieve the ability of one human receptor to bind to viral S protein.  This is a very good news for tea lovers.

Many people thought only green tea has EGCG, as matter of fact, EGCG is one of richest compounds (80%) in catechin, as matter of fact richer EGCG can be found in large-leaf Pu’erh (Sheng) and green tea.  When analyzing  Theaflavins (yellow color), thearubins (red color) and theabrownins (brown color) in black tea from the tea process, they found theaflavins can also vind to S protein. Tea lovers can appreciate the theaflvins more from the golden tippy black tea.

What is amazing about tea is may be there are only small differences in tea polyphenol structures but the functions may be completely different, and that reflects the mysteries in life and Nature.

Due to the time rush and data were not sufficient enough, therefore Prof. Wang and his teams will continue with the research, they will only announce the final result after having sufficient data and facts.

At the same time, the experts in Zhejiang are studying how the warm tea drink to the relapse of virus infection.  Any research, either medicine, vaccine or tea, that related to COVID-19 Coronavirus require very struct research attitude, quantifiable and verifiable data and facts.  But with diligent and strict scientific researches we do can sense the light at the end of tunnel for Coronavirus.

Various health benefits that different kind of tea have already been scientifically confirmed, and people simply need to enhance the most foremost important learning – Listen to your body & respect your conditions but not follow information blindly and carefully choose pure and authentic quality tea, take responsibility for own decision. When you think you deserve the best, then learn to respect tea and the Nature.

During the interview by the Yunnan TV & Radio, Prof. Wang XJ said “there is no double drinking tea is good for health, but in order to reach the potential objective to prevent and cure from the virus, perhaps it is better use the extract of effective compounds, we are deepening the research on the application side, hopefully can provide more data to the research for COVID-19 Coronavirus.”

A friend told me she saw a Pharmacy in Brussels is selling textile mask, washable and can replace the ‘filter’. So my friend asked the pharmacist, are you also selling the filter? The reply was “No”. So question will be, can this kind of textile mask really helps to reduce the risk against Coronavirus without or using ‘coffee” filter?

What is the purpose of wearing mask in this particular time? To create a fancy looking? or try to reduce risk of virus infection, particularly for those who are working in the hospital? It is not a funny joke to see our medical personnel wear non-medical masks in the hospital. Same thing for the citizen who will return to work in the space where they face challenge to keep the safe 1.5m safety distance at work or in the shop or in any venue.

The textile mask is washable and allows reuse.  But it should have a protective filter in between two layers of textile fabric.  So the question would be : Is there a PM2.5 antibacterial filter between the front textile and inner layer of textile?

I have high respect to doctors and nurses and medical & health specialists because of their education and certificates, but it is sad to watch such unscientific demonstration to the fight against the aggressive Corornavirus.

Hope the following checking points are useful for you to choose the textile mask for the reopening:

• The antibacterial efficiency %
• The breathing level
• You should have more than 1 or 2 masks so you can wash it everyday after use
• There is life limited for the antibacterial filter, normally is 7 days under normal conditions
• Textile masks are not recommended for those who already have breathing problem or children younger than 3 years old.
• The government should be cleared with the import regulation and selling permission in order to avoid the chaotic situation happened to masks
  • Before the pandemic, masks were allowed to sell freely in shops / supermarkets
  • when the pandemic happened, retail of masks was not allowed otherwise can face severe fine punishment
  • Since today the non-medical masks are free to sell in shops

Even though the photo from hospital alert my worries about the ‘professional sense’ from some medical personnel, but still it is better to check with your family doctor or local specialist before buying masks.

©Mei Lan Hsiao, 04/05/2020, Antwerp

for more information, contact Mei Lan Hsiao, Tel: 0494506899, email: chinadesk.service@gmail.com

Tea and tea culture began from China that silently traveled, integrated in different cultures through human migration. The different selections for the first step have created different tones in tea cultural journeys in the West.

In five thousand years China history, Chinese have been using tea to bridge cultures through trading, tolerate and encourage cultural integration without imposing, encourage the simple concept of sharing for mutual prosperity, solidarity and friendships; it has been further cultivated into Chinese culture when tea eventually embedded in Chinese daily living culture without emphasizing cultural hierachy but the sharing of common wealth, self cultivation and good social behaviours.

However, the West started their tea journey from totally different angles. The initial ideas from those who brought tea to the West from China meant to make money and profit for their own but not for the common wealth. The high tea concept did encourage the growth of afternoon tea culture in England which further influences the tea culture in the world,

The western tea journey did not start as a social drink to promote common wealth of average people but more for rich and selected high society, just like how tea and tea culture were before the 7th century in China. Even though today became a social drink, but the hidden shadow of hierarchical show-case and comparative behaviors are not yet whitened out after the past two decades.

Under the horrified threats from Corona virus pandemic, it is not clear about potential impacts to the global economy, let’s hope the growth of tea drinkers and awakened awareness for solidarity can continue. Perhaps slowly, but let’s make sure it grows surely.

Since the first outbreak happened in Wuhan to the raging global pandemic, we start to have some knowledge about Corona virus based on the accumulated observations and experience from those front line doctors and nurses who scarified or took risk of their live to help those infected patients.

Here is the summary from doctors who worked on the treatment for Cororna virus infection in WuHan, hopefully it gives us a clearer understanding different syndromes from Flue vs. Virus:

• Air pollution: Dried coughing + sneezing
• Having cold : coughing + slime + sneezing + running nose
• Flue: Coughing + slime + sneezing + running nose + aching + fatigue + mild fever
• Virus: Dried coughing + sneezing + aching + fatigue + high fever + breathing difficulties

Yesterday in New York City press conference, an American doctor said Corona virus is a very nasty virus, because some carriers don’t show any syndromes, otherwise testing positive even with the negative testing from the day before.

Hopefully with the continued down curve of infection numbers and increasing of healing numbers, our government will lift up the “home staying” policy, but it does not mean we should consider “We are freed”. We should still keep high alert because so far there is no effective medicines or vaccines. Even when we are able to reopen, it is better for us to continue the following practices:

• Keeping social distancing

• Washing hands regularly and thoroughly

• Wearing mask in the public, particularly in the crowd environment

• Consulting doctor before taking any medicines

• Maintaining calm and positive energy

“To Be” starts from self

“Future” begins from today, right now.

Have a cup of tea to ease thirst, enjoy drinking tea;

Appreciate hard works for tea, have tea in heart;

Have fun living zen, appreciate zen in tea;

Practice zen in every moment in every minute, experience zen enlightenment in tea.

©copyrighted Mei Lan Hsiao, Antwerp, 4/4/2020

Have learnt a new management vocabulary today, “Shadow Box“.— a group of non-executive employees that works with senior executives on strategic initiatives. The purpose? To leverage the younger groups’ insights and to diversify the perspectives that executives are exposed to.https://hbr.org/2019/06/why-you-should-create-a-shadow-board-of-younger-employees?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=linkedin This all sounds great, but what is the reality? Can the sounding board from younger workers and non-executive senior staffs can help the top executives see well what need to be changed? The real challenge probably would be “will the executives who have the power to influence the implementation are really willing to listen and act to change”.

When thinking this explanation deeper, I think the purpose of having a ‘shadow box’ is not limited to the change management in organization development only. In fact many people are struggled by two problems in life:

• Disengagement – Often how many people (even closest partner or friends) are willing to act together without separate agenda but a collective goal for a longer period of time? Checking reality regularly is necessary.

• Weak response – when it seems we are surrounding by many friends that we ultimately expect they are willing to listen but again we quickly realize in the process that many of them only interest in their own problems or even have different agenda and there are only few willing to engage and listen. It is normal, there are many “acquaintances” but only few “good friends” who are truly willing to listen, urge us to face the truth and to identify solutions for problem solving in life.

When we think we have many friends, but when we need friends to listen and to give us guidance because of facing puzzles, having troubles or in stress, we will quickly confront a challenge of how many are there truly willing to listen? To get us out from trouble situations in life, what we really need are not those who seems agreeing with kind words or give us suggestions that they can’t even act for themselves but not truly willing to listen. As matter of fact actually what we really need are few friends who can maintain objectiveness and urge us to examine the situation and push us to take actions that we need to take in order to get ourselves out from the trouble situation, step by step, without judgement.

In life, the reality teaches us few crucial facts: We can only reduce disappointments with the least expectations and God only helps those are willing to help themselves to put their feet on the ground and act forwards.

Even though the sky is grey, but the sun is still shinning above the cloud and waiting to shine through at the right time if we could wait it with patience.

Only those who are strong dare to examine the inner-self and clear the mist in the situation in order to identify actions to take; those who are weak only try to find excuses to explain the situation that they want to think or even push the blames on others by lying to themselves..

Either in China or in the West, often I met parents who were proud that their child can either make tea or drink tea at the young age, sometime even at the age of 3. This reminds me the teaching from my mother when I was about 8 years old when I was responsible to prepare tea for my father and mother in the weekend, but at that time my Mom dis-allowed me to drink tea. I could only sometimes have a zip of it, but never drank strongly brewed tea.

So, one day I came out with the “Why” question to my Mom why I might not drink tea, because it’s so attempting by its fine flavors when I made tea for them.

Even though my Mom was not a tea master or doctor, but she has very good common sense about healthy diets based on her learnings on the fundamental principles for health based on the Chinese traditional medicine (CTM) from her mother and grand mother, so here is what she said to me:

During the growing period, children need to have a lot of calcium and nutrients, so it is better to keep your body sober and clean as possible. In tea there are Tea Tannin and others that might affect the conditions to the stomach and could influence to digestion, particular during the developmental phase.

So, I was only allowed to drink tea at the age of 12.

Now when it comes to the subject if tea is good for young children, here is the summary of suggestions based on several researche reports found in China:

• Tea contains substances such as theophylline, which can easily cause excitement in the central nervous system, infant and young children are still in the developmental stage, and each nervous system has a weaker ability to inhibit substances with excitatory effects.
• The tea contains tannic acid and theophylline. When these two ingredients enter the body, they will potentially inhibit the absorption of some nutrients such as calcium, zinc, iron and magnesium. Excessive drinking of tea or drinking tea may lead to a lack of nutrients in the body and even malnutrition.
• In general, tea has diuretic function. After drinking tea, the process of diuresis, tannic acid and theophylline can also cause the loss of minerals such as calcium and phosphorus for young children (this is what my Mom was talking about), which is not conducive to the absorption of iron and can even easily cause iron deficiency anemia . That might affect the absorption of nutrients
• Avoid giving tea to children younger than 6, give selected tea, either caffeine-free infusion, or aged tea or very lightly brewed tea, to children over 6 and younger than 12.

Either to children or for adult, there are my simple suggestions for daily tea:

• Alter the selection of tea drink according to the change of season
• Avoid drinking strong tea
• Avoid drinking fresh tea
• Keep the brewing as light as possible
• Limit the drinking quantity per day
• Have a glass of water in between tea drinks

Pregnant women certainly should avoid drinking strong tea, not only it’s susceptible to anemia, but also not conducive to the absorption of other nutrients. The stimulation of having too much Tea Tannin (Caffeine) can accelerate heart rate, increase urination and burden on heart and kidney. Tea does stimulates many health benefits, but drinking too much non-sense blending, or contains aromatic or coloring addictive substance might hidden the health. But the fault is not from the tea itself, but it is because people do not know what to select and how to drink tea.

We do, however, can train young children the techniques of brewing and serving tea, because it helps to start the respectful and disciplined behaviors training at the younger age.