Politicians urge doctor to remove ‘Wuhan pneumonia’ sign

Two Toronto-based politicians are pressing a Chinesecanadian doctor to remove a sign on his office door

– in Chinese – that refers to COVID-19 as the “Wuhan pneumonia,” complaining the wording could incite antiasian hatred.

The English part of the sign, which explained Dr. Kester Kong’s office protocol during the pandemic, referred only to COVID.

The incident raises thorny questions about when citing the coronavirus’s origins constitutes a form of racism, and whether it makes any difference if the audience is Asian itself.

Vincent Ke, a Progressive Conservative member of the provincial legislature with a history of ties to the Chinese government, said Kong may have made an innocent mistake, but it doesn’t matter that the mention of Wuhan was in Chinese.

“No matter the language spoken or written, the term ‘Wuhan pneumonia’ to describe the COVID-19 virus is not just incorrect, it is inflammatory,” a spokesman for the politician said by email.

“In fact, many Chinese Canadians feel extremely offended and vulnerable by the term used by Dr. Kong … MPP Ke has confidence that if Dr. Kong learned how divisive and hurtful the term ‘Wuhan pneumonia’ is to the people in our communities, he would remove the sign.”

Ke had earlier posted about the issue in an anti-racism forum on the China-based Wechat social media site, saying that if the physician did not change the notice, he and fellow Tory MPP Aris Babikian would hold a news conference to publicize the issue.

Kong could not be reached for comment.