Conference Speakers Session

Some individuals who were not able to attend the conference in person had been very interested in listening to the talks, and Maria Yang had arranged for the session to be broadcast via Zoom to accommodate them.  Working on Zoom participants.

Our first presentation was entitled, Nutrition Facts and Remarks, and was given via Zoom from New York by Dr. Lihua Zhang, a former President of the OCAW New Orleans Chapter. Lihua graduated from Nanjing Medical University with an M.D. degree, and from the Naval Medical University in Shanghai with a Ph.D. in nutrition in critical care. She practices in hospitals as an anesthesiologist, and in clinics treating patients with holistic medicine. She is also a licensed acupuncturist.
As the title of the presentation suggested, Lihua offered several tips on how to maintain good health. She discussed various foods that she felt were especially helpful to consume, but also expressed caution about other foods. She explained various diets (Adkins, etc., and currently Keto) that have been advertised and promoted over the years. However, rather than follow any one such diet, she believed that it was most important to simply follow a diet of moderation. She advised everyone to ‘listen to their body,’ as it was the best guide to their own personal health. If one experienced problems, she recommended that they consult their doctor.

Our second presentation was entitled, How to Slow Down Joint Degeneration, and it was given via Zoom from California by Dr. Wendy Chuang. She is a lifetime member of the OCAW Silicon Valley Chapter. Wendy received her B.S. in Neuroscience and Physiology from the University of California, San Diego and then her Doctor of Chiropractic from Palmer College of Chiropractic West, where she also was a faculty member for many years. She was the founder of Natural Health Pros in Sunnyvale, CA. Wendy has volunteered both locally and abroad with many organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care, and several others, and has given numerous health talks to companies, Asian community associations, etc. In her past 22 years of experience, she has addressed the concerns of Asian patients and worked with their needs.
Wendy informed us that as one aged, there was a natural deterioration of the spine and other body parts. She advocated maintaining erect posture, which keeps a straighter body alignment. The goal is to strengthen one’s core to help prevent deterioration. Wendy demonstrated deep breathing techniques which were beneficial. She also discussed the value of stretching exercises, and emphasized how important they were.
Wendy then had audience members stand up and perform a couple of breathing and stretching exercises, and we followed her lead.

Our third presentation was entitled, “Flowing with the Pearl River,” and was given by Amy Chan Zhou. Amy graduated from the State University of New York with a B.S. degree in accounting, and she is currently working for Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland.
Amy is the author of the book, Flowing with the Pearl River: Memoir of a Red China Girl. Talking about the contents of her book, Amy discussed the difficult times she experienced growing up during China’s Cultural Revolution. She related incidents involving her family members, describing what they went through and what they had to overcome. 

Our fourth presentation was entitled, Colors in Chinese Traditional Court Clothing, and it was given by Maria Yang. Maria is the current President of the OCAW Virginia Chapter. She received her B.A. in English Language and Literature and her Masters in Chinese Language and Literature and completed coursework in a Ph.D. Program in Applied Linguistics. This education prepared her to be a qualified Language and Culture Instructor, and since 2010, she has been teaching “Taiwanese Literature” in the Modern and Classical Languages Department at George Mason University in Virginia. In addition, Maria has about 30 years of experience teaching Chinese language in both college and office settings, and she is also currently teaching Mandarin Chinese language at the Arlington Community Learning Program.
Maria discussed the importance and meaning of colors in Chinese clothing historically. Colors were segregated by class, with some colors reserved for the upper class (like yellow for the Emperor), and other colors for average citizens. She also informed us that there were certain colors associated with each period of the Chinese Zodiac, and she cited which specific colors went with each of the twelve signs. Maria concluded her presentation by generously handing out gift sweaters of different colors to some of the out-of-town attendees whose Zodiac sign matched the appropriate color. These presents were a nice surprise and much appreciated by their recipients.

Before our final formal presentation, we interjected a brief, light talk by Lily Tan, a former President of the Silicon Valley Chapter. She had all of us laughing, as she demonstrated her innovative hair-curling technique. While she was waiting for her hair to ‘set,’ she seriously discussed a book she had written entitled, Fire Scar: The Untold Story of the 1887 Burning of San Jose’s Chinatown. Written under the name of Lily K. Lee, it is a work of fiction but was based on a true account of the shameful burning. After her brief book description, she removed the socks to reveal her new curls!

Our final presentation was entitled, “The Chinese in Hawaii,” and it was given by Dr. Sandy Young.  Economist, school principal, and educational consultant are careers that have nourished Sandy’s love of international travel. A three-time Fulbright Scholar and a Rotary International Exchange Scholar to Beijing, she has been able to gain a global perspective of life and learning. As a world traveler, she has shared her international educational perspectives wherever she has ventured.
Sandy regaled the audience with a highly interesting set of various facts that pertained to their island state of Hawaii. For example, it is the most diverse state in the U.S., both geographically and culturally. It is the only state that is a Majority Minority state, and no one ethnicity rules over the others. After her presentation of numerous facts, she and the other members of the Hawaii delegation performed a wonderful hula dance for us, to the well-known and beloved “The Hukilau Song.” Sandy asked us to pay strict attention to the dancers’ hand and foot movements, as we were going to be asked to join them subsequently. After their dance, we audience members got up and followed their lead – or tried to! – and had immense fun! 

Thank you very much to all of our speakers for their wonderful presentations, the volunteers and organizers.