Over the past nine years, retired English-as-an-additional-language teacher Chian-Li Hsu has witnessed some heart-rending events as a palliative-care volunteer on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.

Uncle Hsu, as he’s called by younger friends in the local Taiwanese community, shared some of those experiences in a recent phone interview with the Georgia Straight. It came after a four-and-a-half-hour volunteer shift at Vancouver General Hospital.

That morning, a woman had passed away under the best of circumstances, surrounded by family. “She just looked so beautiful, and I was really touched,” Hsu said. “I’ve learned how important it is to have a good death. When patients are dying in peace with themselves and are well prepared, I think that’s one of the most beautiful things in the world.”

But he also revealed that he can feel depressed by this work, particularly when he witnesses people suffer. Sometimes, the patient is struggling with unresolved conflicts in life; other times, the magnitude of the medical problems is taking a toll. On other occasions, relatives will be fighting to have medical treatment delivered until the very end, even if there’s no chance of success.

“The patients will suffer even more before they die,” Hsu said. “Why not give your loved ones palliative care so that they can spend the last portion of their life with their loved ones in a very peaceful and less painful environment and live a dignified life?”

In 2013 and 2014, he volunteered for two three-month stints at a Taiwanese hospital. He recalled one patient who had cancer in his cheek area. When the nurse was changing the gauze, Hsu could see the man’s teeth and bones through a hole in his face. It brought tears to the volunteer’s eyes.

“I held his hand and said, ‘I know you’re suffering and I’m suffering with you,’ ” Hsu said. “We sit with patients. We listen to what they have to tell us. If we are lucky, we run into situations where we are able to provide some comforting words so patients go very peacefully.”

This year, Hsu completed a book in Chinese about being a palliative-care volunteer. The translated title is Being With You Till the Last Moment, and he’ll speak about it as part of a series called Hope Talk at TaiwanFest, which takes place in downtown Vancouver over the Labour Day weekend.

The book includes 50 stories and it covers, among other things, the differences and similarities between palliative care in Canada and Taiwan. There are also sections on people who died a good death, as well as those who died what Hsu would consider a bad death. Names and occupations have been changed to conceal the patients’ identities.

He noted that Swiss-American death researcher Elisabeth Kübler-Ross once said that the dying have learned many lessons, but by that point it’s too late for them to benefit from them.

“I’m grateful that I am able to learn from them and try to apply them to my life,” Hsu said.

The Hope Talk series was inspired by a Taiwanese tradition in which news was read out in imperial times beneath the Wind Temple arches in Tainan, Taiwan. Most of the Vancouver lectures will take place on a stage on Granville Street. However, high-profile Taiwanese business journalist and author Tieh-chih Chang will give his presentation at 1 p.m. on Saturday (September 3) at the Orpheum Annex. Other speakers in the series include Taiwanese immigrants Julia Hsieh, Alex Peng, and Lina Chuang, who will discuss Hakka culture in Taiwan and in the Lower Mainland. RCMP officer and Taiwanese immigrant Will Lin will give a Hope Talk about pursuing dreams. And environmentalist Sam Lin will discuss the democratization process in Taiwan.

Chian-Li Hsu will speak at 2 p.m. Saturday (September 3) on Granville Street between Smithe and Robson streets on as part of TaiwanFest.