Visa move will stem outbreak
The proposal by Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to suspend visas-on-arrival for Chinese travellers should be greeted as a measured, rational and necessary step to contain the spread of Wuhan coronavirus. However, the need for practical preventive measures should not be seen as a free pass to unleash xenophobia against Chinese people.
Yesterday, Thailand reported its first case of coronavirus transmission. A taxi driver was found to be infected with the new virus despite never having travelled to China. The news will inevitably heighten public fears of contagion. The finding places Thailand among a handful of countries outside China that have reported local transmission, namely Japan, the US, Germany and Vietnam.
Thailand still hosts the largest number of cases outside China, with 19 confirmed as of yesterday. It has also received 20,000 tourists from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, in Hubei province, since the outbreak was reported late last month. Wuhan, where the outbreak originated, has now been locked down.
In Thailand, public anger is growing at the government for doing too little, too late to contain the risk of infection and keep citizens informed of developments beyond its daily updates on the number infected.
While countries including Malaysia, the Philippines, Russia and Vietnam have halted issuance of certain visas to travellers from Hubei province, or China altogether, many Thais feel the government has kept the gate wide open to visitors arriving from the epicentre of the outbreak and other Chinese provinces.
The government has so far merely ordered thermal screening at airports for travellers arriving from China. However, this measure cannot detect asymptomatic cases of infection.
If adopted, the move to scrap visa-on-arrivals for Chinese visitors would be acceptable. It is not an aggressive measure. Nor does it amount to unjust discrimination. The Thai government’s existing policy to grant Chinese nationals visas-on-arrival is in fact preferential treatment designed to draw more tourists. China does not reciprocate. Meanwhile, Thailand does not extend the visa privilege to nationals of a number of countries.
The change in the visa policy would enable Thai consular officials to screen Chinese applicants for Thai visas. Mr Anutin yesterday said he planned to ramp up the screening policy by requiring Chinese tourists to present doctor’s certificates to immigration officials to prove they are coronavirus-free. Thailand will also prepare a database on the number of its Chinese tourists and their dates of arrival and departure, he said.
The Thai government needs to do more to set up measures that track the health conditions of Chinese visitors and ensure they have timely access to public health services when needed.
It is unfortunate, then, that the proposal to halt visas-on-arrival has been opposed by Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn and the tourism sector, whose main concern is over potential financial losses. Their opposition is shortsighted. Any policy that aims to ensure Thailand is a safe destination will benefit tourism in the long term.
Meanwhile, a worrying and growing trend of discrimination against Chinese people has taken hold in many countries, including Thailand. The proposal to suspend the visa privilege for Chinese nationals is a calculated preventive measure. The Thai public and authorities should not let the need for practical prevention mutate into anti-Chinese sentiment. One disease is enough to deal with.