Medical experts to Italy prepare to board a plane in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, March 25, 2020.(Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)
INDIVIDUALS SHOULDER RESPONSIBILITY
Chinese private individuals are also pulling their weight.
"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 in their second homeland to collect protective gears and donate them to the frontline health workers.
Chinese associations had mobilized even before this open letter was published, by donating masks and other materials to France's pre-hospital medical emergency body and to hospitals treating coronavirus patients.
In Spain, the Chinese community has donated materials, such as face masks, protective clothing and hand cleaning gels, to the local authorities, the police and hospitals in various cities. They also prepared videos to help raise awareness of COVID-19, keep people safe and prevent panic. A lot more people offering donations prefer to remain anonymous, stating simply: "We are the Chinese community."
"We want to thank the Chinese community in Zaragoza for the donation of face masks, gloves and thermometers to the Zaragoza 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 (ACPB) and a fundraising team that calls itself "Keep Going Wuhan!" have sent hundreds of pairs of protective glasses to two hospitals in Brussels. "The Meuse River runs long, so does our friendship with the Belgian people. We stand together with you in these difficult times," said their message posted on the boxes.
"We will continue to donate other supplies that are still on the way, this time from China to Belgium," said Dr. Xu Zhian, chairman of the association.
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 U.S. dollars) to the local authorities, explaining that "the situation has changed" and "there is no such thing as an alien grief."
In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Chinese businessmen have donated over 10,000 euros to Banja Luka University Hospital and the Brcko special economic zone since the country's first COVID-19 infection was confirmed.
"Some of us have been in BiH for more than 20 years. When our second home is in trouble, we must do something," He Guoliang, a Chinese businessman who initiated the move, told Xinhua.
Elva Liu, a Munich-based Chinese business lawyer who considers Germany her second home, felt the same urge. She did not hesitate one second when she gave a package of masks she had bought in early March to her doctor earlier this week after watching a video in which a German doctor announced the closure of his clinic for lack of personal protective equipment.
"One more doctor continues working, much more chances patients will have for recovery," she told Xinhua. "I finished my studies, built up my career and my family in Germany. I will try my best to help bring normal life back to my second hometown and help others around me."
More and more Chinese are expected to join the fight against the virus and make their contributions to Europe's war against the pandemic, commented Nouvelle d'Europe, a Paris-based daily paper run by and for the Chinese diaspora in its Saturday editorial.
"When our motherland suffers, overseas Chinese rush to the rescue. When our second homeland is enduring a hard time, we will also shoulder our responsibilities," reads the editorial.
