Chinese firms, expatriate groups rushing to help
PARIS — Expressions like “Together we are stronger”, “l’union fait la force”, “Berg und Tal kommen nicht zusammen, wohl aber die Menschen”, displaying hope and solidarity are circulating on the social media platform WeChat these days, as Chinese expats living in Europe join those in their host countries in the war against the novel coronavirus.
From the Meuse River and the Dinaric Alps, to Rica and Piraeus, increasing numbers of Chinese enterprises and residents are standing with local authorities and frontline health workers, mainly by providing much-needed medical protective gear to help their second homeland, now the epicenter of the pandemic.
Businesses in solidarity
On Monday, dozens of boxes containing 50,000 medical masks dispatched from Changsha in Central China were handed over to Bedburg city officials in eastern Germany. Written on the boxes was a German proverb, which translates as: “Mountains and valleys don’t come together, but humans do”.
The donation came from the Sany Group, a leading Chinese construction machinery manufacturer whose European headquarters is in Bedburg. The masks are destined for hospitals in Bedburg and Essen, both in North Rhine-Westphalia, the German state with the largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases.
“During the most difficult time of the COVID-19 outbreak in China, Sany Europe’s partners and friends in Europe provided great support to the Chinese people. So, with a grateful heart, the Sany Group quickly put together the first batch of 50,000 protective masks in China to support the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany,” said Martin Knoetgen, the chief executive officer of Sany Europe.
Across the continent, Chinese enterprises are taking similar action to fight the coronavirus with their host cities.
The Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation have increased efforts to provide support and supplies to countries affected, especially Italy, Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, France, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Chinese tech giant Huawei has also been busy sending out aid. Alibaba and Huawei have both announced that other vital supplies urgently needed will arrive rapidly.
The Paris branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has donated 40,000 N95 respirator masks to the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in the French capital. The Piraeus Port Authority, operated by China’s COSCO Shipping Ports Limited, has donated protective suits, single-use gloves and protective glasses to Hellenic Coast Guard officers.
KLM Royal Dutch Airline’s partners in China — China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines — have donated tens of thousands of medical masks to the Netherlands.
An exhaustive list would fill pages, but all these could be summarized by what a Chinese official said at a donation ceremony last Friday.
“The virus knows no borders. It is a common challenge for humanity,” said Li Xiaosi, Chinese ambassador to Austria, when witnessing the donation of 150,000 protective masks and 3,000 protective suits to the Workers’ Samaritan Federation, an Austrian aid organization primarily active in emergency medical services, by representatives of the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation, a large rolling stock manufacturer.
Individuals pulling weight
Chinese citizens in Europe are also offering help in the virus fight.
“We, the Chinese living in France, have two homes — when China was in distress, we were all with Wuhan; now as the disaster falls upon France, we are all Parisians,” wrote the Association of Chinese Residents in France in an open letter, urging some 700,000 Chinese expatriates living there to collect protective gear and donate it to frontline health workers.
In Spain, the Chinese community has donated material to the local authorities, the police and hospitals in various cities. And they also prepared videos to help raise awareness of COVID-19, keep people safe and prevent panic.
“We want to thank the Chinese community in Zaragoza for the donation of face masks, gloves and thermometers to the local police. There is no doubt that difficult situations promote solidarity, and this is a clear example: a thousand thanks!” read a message on social media from the City Hall in Zaragoza, in northern Spain.
The Athens-based Sino-Hellenic Investors’ Confederation has offered seven fully equipped apartments in the Greek capital free of charge for use by doctors and nurses treating patients in Greek hospitals.
The Association of Chinese Professionals in Belgium and a fundraising team that calls itself “Keep Going Wuhan!” have sent hundreds of pairs of protective glasses to two hospitals in Brussels.
In Latvia, an online auction launched by Chinese and local artists, previously aimed at helping Wuhan, also decided to give its total proceeds of some 5,000 euros ($5,400) to the local authorities.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chinese businessmen have donated over 10,000 euros to Banja Luka University Hospital and the Brcko special economic zone since the country’s first infection was confirmed.