JAKARTA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Indonesians held a charity event in the capital of Jakarta on Friday evening to support Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei province and epicenter of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Ardy Wijaya, who initiated the event along with his friends, was impressed by the huge supports they received during a public event on the artificial Maju Island in northern Jakarta.
Children sang pop songs and young people performed Indonesian traditional dances, including Betawi and Minahasan art dances, to bring ethnic atmosphere to the "Spirit of Wuhan" event.
Members of inter-religious organisations in Indonesia, a multi-religious nation, also came together to pray for the victims affected by the outbreak. At least 500 people flocked to the venue of the event.
Dewi Sartika, who made a donation at the event, expressed hopes that the people of Wuhan could tide over their difficult times.
The Jakarta resident believed the outbreak would be contained eventually.
"Chinese people are tough because they are used to getting through various difficulties. So I believe that they can fight this outbreak. Stay strong, Wuhan!" she said.
The event coordinators have been collecting donations for a week and plan to send around 1 million face masks and other kinds of assistance to the people of Wuhan through the Chinese government.
Most participants of Friday's event were seen making donations in various forms, including money and masks.
"We will use the money to buy items that Chinese people need. We will be in touch with the Chinese government about this," the event's main coordinator Wijaya told Xinhua.
At a press conference held Friday on a special meeting between foreign ministers of China and ASEAN countries in Laos, Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Deng Xijun said more than 16,000 COVID-19 patients had been cured and discharged from hospitals so far.
Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared China's COVID-19 epidemic a "public health emergency of international concern," Ambassador Deng said it is not a vote of no confidence in China, but rather a way to help countries with weak health systems to strengthen the outbreak response.
"The WHO is confident in China's ability to control the outbreak," he added.
