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QINGDAO TODAY
在线翻译:
szdaily -> Special Report -> 
Coronavirus outbreak not a reason for prejudice
    2020-02-03  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

Windy Shao

windysjf@hotmail.com

THE deadly coronavirus continues to spread across the world as more and more countries are reporting new cases, raising great concern among the public.

It is understandable that countries take measures to tackle the spread of the deadly virus, but we also see a worrying trend of anti-Chinese sentiment and xenophobia taking place.

In France, the newspaper Le Courier Picard featured a front page story yesterday showing an Asian woman wearing a mask and the headline “Yellow Alert.” The color referencing Asian skin tones drew immediate condemnation from French Asians, and citizens of Chinese descent started using the hashtag #JeNeSuisPasUnVirus or “I am not a virus.”

Russell Jeung, chairman of Asian-American Studies at San Francisco State University, told the USA Today that racist reactions towards the Chinese (and sometimes anyone merely Asian-looking) just adds hatred to the hysteria.

“If you look at social media and some of the news, it’s fear of the ‘Yellow Peril’ all over again,” says Jeung, referring to a term that gained traction after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941.

In Italy, a sign in front of Rome’s iconic Trevi Fountain states in both Chinese and English: “Due to international safety measures, all people coming from China are not allowed to have access to this place.”

A Chinese woman who runs a small convenience store in Rome told local media: “I haven’t been to China for more than 10 years, but they are so scared of us.”

Many other Asian peoples have also suffered the prejudice. Shana Cheng, a 17-year-old Paris resident of Vietnamese and Cambodian origin, told the BBC that she was hassled on a Paris bus last weekend.

“There’s a Chinese woman, she is going to contaminate us,” Cheng said she heard two passengers say. Then she said they looked at her “in a disgusted way, as if I was the virus.”

Fear of the coronavirus around the world has so far led to everything from anti-Chinese signs at businesses to misrepresented videos.

South Korean restaurant owners have displayed “No Chinese allowed” signs. In Singapore, more than 125,000 people have signed a petition urging the government to ban Chinese nationals from entering the city-state.

In the United States, some observers note that the current administration’s hardline stance against immigrants may exacerbate racist incidents until the virus threat abates.

“The headlines have framed the coronavirus as an invasion into our country, and it surfaces the historical xenophobia and perpetual foreigner stereotype for Asian-Americans once again,” said Aarti Kohli, executive director at Asian Law Caucus, a civil rights organization.

Kohli said a Filipino staffer with a cold “got weird looks” while at a Los Angeles area airport early last week.

Not all Asians are Chinese. An Asian who coughs doesn’t necessarily mean he/she has coronavirus.

Not all Chinese were born in Wuhan and not all have been there.

Not all Wuhan residents have been carrying the virus and even those who have been infected with the deadly virus are merely victims that should be taken care of rather than facing those weird looks.

What is the difference between insulting people with Chinese-like faces because of the virus and insulting a Muslim because of terrorist bombings?

Based on the latest figures, the coronavirus fatality rate is 2.1 percent. That compares to a fatality rate of the 9.6 percent for the SARS health scare.

Amid formal government agency reactions, there were calls for calm.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said WHO was not recommending limiting travel or trade to China after announcing the fast-spreading coronavirus a global health emergency.

“WHO continues to have the confidence in China’s capacity to control the outbreak,” he said.

“This is the time for facts, not fear. This is the time for science, not rumors. This is the time for solidarity, not stigma.”

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Shenzhen Daily E-mail:szdaily@szszd.com.cn