The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Supermarket vandalism could be linked to virus, fears owner
Mr Chen believes Wing Fung was targeted due to rising suspicion of Chinese people
A Chinese supermarket in Dundee has had its window smashed in a suspected racist attack potentially linked to coronavirus panic.
Vandals threw stones at the Wing Fung supermarket in Trades Lane some time between Wednesday evening and yesterday morning.
Owner Brian Chen said he believed the shop was deliberately targeted because of growing suspicion towards Chinese people following the outbreak of coronavirus in China.
Another community leader said there had also been reports of Chinese children being subjected to racist comments in the wake of the spread of the disease.
Mr Chen said: “The window of my shop is damaged.
“People have used three stones to break it.
“I noticed it when I came in at 10.30am on Wednesday.
“I’m still in the process of checking the CCTV but I suspect it might have been children.
“The day before, my wife was in town and she heard some kids talking about China, saying bad things.
“It could have been a coincidence, but then the next day I find my windows broken.
“It’s never happened before so I think it could be to do with the panic about coronavirus.”
Yanyang Laird, head teacher of Dundee Chinese School, said she also suspected the shop was deliberately targeted.
She said: “An incident like that has never happened before.
“I do think it was a racist attack. “In general Dundee has always been very friendly towards Chinese people, but now with the coronavirus there’s been a lot of discrimination.
“Some of the children from our school have been asked if Chinese people eat wild animals and told that that’s why there’s coronavirus in China.
“These children are born in the UK and have nothing to do with any of it.”
Ms Laird said there had also been misunderstandings about why some Chinese people choose to wear face masks in public.
“Sometimes people see Chinese people with face masks and think that it’s because they’re infected,” she said.
“But in China it was common to wear the masks even before coronavirus, because the cities have so much smog.
“Some people also wear them here. “I want to spread the message that Chinese people are not a virus, we are not a danger.”