Chinese Ambassador Cai Run (R) tours a Chinese commercial establishment in downtown Lisbon, Portugal, Feb. 28, 2020. Lisbon municipal council and the Chinese embassy in Portugal on Friday launched a campaign to tour Chinese businesses in a bid to stem discrimination against Asians following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. (Xinhua/Wen Xinnian)
LISBON, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Lisbon municipal council and the Chinese embassy in Portugal on Friday launched a campaign to tour Chinese businesses in a bid to stem discrimination against Asians following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
During the campaign entitled "More Health and Less Discrimination", Chinese Ambassador Cai Run, Portugese Director General of Health Graca Freitas and Lisbon City Councilors Manuel Gliro toured Chinese commercial establishments in downtown Lisbon, including supermarkets, stores and restaurants.
Cai briefed the reporters about the strong measures the Chinese government has taken to tackle the epidemic since the outbreak of coronavirus in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
According to the ambassador, around 50 Chinese in Portugal, who returned from China, have been self-quarantined for 14 days.
Their voluntary isolation is not only a demonstration of a high sense of responsibility towards their own health, but also towards public health in Portugal, said Cai.
Freitas said the steps that members of the Chinese community have taken to bolster public health are "noble" and deserve respect and gratitude.
Gliro said that Chinese community in Portugal is an indispensible part of Lisbon, and has made great contributions to the city's economic and social development and cultural diversity.
Gliro told reporters that the city council unanimously passed a resolution on Thursday showing solidarity with the Chinese community in Lisbon, adding that the capital city, famous for its tolerance, will never permit any form of xenophobia or discrimination.
Their tour ended at the Family Health Unit in Baixa district, where leaflets about the new coronavirus were distributed, sharing ways to prevent the COVID-19 transmission and the latest information about the disease, and emphasizing that there is no reason to avoid Chinese commercial establishments.
Cai underlined that the campaign's "special meaning" is to combat discrimination and strengthen public health.
Most main Portuguese media have covered the campaign with headlines like "Portugal and China join hand in combating coronavirus" and "Self-quarantined measures by Chinese returnees deserve appreciation."
According to the World Health Organization's latest COVID-19 report on Friday, there is no confirmed coronavirus case in Portugal. However, two Portuguese crew members of a cruise ship are hospitalized in Japan after contracting the virus.
