Bias caused by novel coronavirus spark anger in overseas Chinese

A man walks along a street in central Beijing amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, February 3, 2020. /Reuters Photo

As the novel coronavirus outbreak spreads globally, anti-Chinese sentiment are rising.

Restaurants in South Korea, Japan and Vietnam have refused to accept Chinese customers. Indonesians marched near a hotel and called on Chinese guests there to leave. 

French and Australian newspapers have faced criticism for racist headlines, while Chinese and other Asians in Europe, the United States, Asia and the Pacific have also complained of racism.

In France, Asians created a Twitter hashtag #Jenesuispasunvirus (I am not a virus) against the wave of racism and prejudice amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

As the hashtag went viral, a young woman who was mocked on a bus in Paris and declined to give her name, said "the worst virus is systemic racism ... We know very well that a virus has no nationality!"

"I was the victim of a racist act by a group of young girls. I could hear them laughing and making fun of me. One said, 'How do we call coronavirus patients? Chinese people, right?'" she said.

As the hashtag spread, tens of thousands people have gone on Twitter to express their discontent about discrimination and racism.

"A person of Chinese origin is not a person infected with the coronavirus. We are not a virus," the Association of Young Chinese in France said.

Ever since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus that started first in China's central city of Wuhan, there have been unpleasant cases of discrimination and violence against Chinese people being reported. Some media outlets even tagged the novel coronavirus as "China virus."

World leaders and experts have called on the international community to discard discrimination against certain groups of people due to misinformation about the novel coronavirus epidemic.

Spain

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has met leaders of the Chinese community in Spain to offer them support in the ongoing coronavirus crisis. He said that fears of the virus have led to some Chinese people being victims of xenophobic incidents and caused difficulties to the Chinese community, and made a call for understanding and praised China's efforts in controlling the spread of the virus.

The United States

Discrimination against Chinese people because of the novel coronavirus outbreak will not be tolerated, Lina Hidalgo, a U.S. local official in Houston, made the remarks at an Asian Chamber of Commerce event hosted at the Chinese Community Center.

"Asian American community members, especially Chinese community members, feel that they are being discriminated against. That is the ugly side of diversity. It's not to be tolerated in this community," she said.

"Diversity is our strength," Hidalgo said. "We thrive because of the people that live here. We should not be discriminating ever."

Italy

Misunderstandings and fake news about the novel coronavirus are major reasons that have led to possible discrimination and violence.

"Let us all be very careful, because there are some signs of discrimination that could turn into episodes of violence," Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a video clip posted on Twitter.

"The situation is absolutely under control, so no one in Italy should think of taking advantage of this situation for displays of discrimination or even violence, which we absolutely cannot accept," said Conte.

In order to combat the spread of fake news on the coronavirus epidemic, which could create alarm among the population, Italy's Ministry of Health has signed an accord with Twitter to highlight the official ministry link in online searches, the ministry said in a statement. It is also in talks with Google to seal a similar deal.

The United Nations

Educating the public globally is key, including the sharing of practical, preventive measures through schools, teachers, children and parents, said Yasmine Sherif, director of Education Cannot Wait, a global fund hosted by the United Nations Children's Fund.

"It is important that we all work together to share accurate information about the coronavirus to help contain the outbreak," said Sherif.

The World Health Organization

The WHO has commissioned a rapid response team from an Austrian university to counter conspiracy theories and misinformation in fighting the novel coronavirus, Austria Press Agency has reported.

The team from Danube University Krems, consisting of ten scientific researchers and students, will support the WHO by reviewing studies and reports on the novel coronavirus within 24 hours. The WHO will therefore be able to base its decisions on reliable facts.

Source: CGTN

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