Standing Shoulder To Shoulder
Chinese in UK lend a hand in COVID-19 containment
However, with more and more Chinese institutions in the UK undertaking similar donation drives, information about where to buy things and how to send them was readily shared.
On April 5, a plane carrying the first batch of medical supplies collected by 15 Chinese organizations and associations in the UK for over 10 British hospitals and research institutions took off from China.
The donations were received with warm thanks. The Oxford Vaccine Centre of the University of Oxford, which is testing a COVID-19 vaccine, said the “generous donation… will play an essential role in the protection of both staff and and participants as we seek to establish the safety and efficacy of a vaccine against COVID-19.” It also said, “Over the past few weeks we have been humbled to receive donations and offers of help from groups and individuals from all corners of the UK, and the world. These have served as a reminder that the work we are undertaking is for the benefit of everyone and only by working together will we achieve success.”
Li said she was moved by the kindness and sense of responsibility shown by all those who were part of the endeavor. One of them was a transporter who drove the goods over hundreds of kilometers from a city in Anhui in east China to the airport in Shanghai. “He messaged me as he passed through every city until the goods arrived at the airport warehouse, though it was late at night in China,” she said.
The majority of the people in the campaign had never known each other before but they came together in solidarity and worked shoulder to shoulder to help tide others over difficulties.
“When the epidemic was severe in China, many foreign friends came to care for us, and we’re glad to reciprocate,” Li said. “Also, we always remember that we represent China.”