In Translation, is a weekly Richmond News feature which highlights some of the top news stories in Chinese media and translates them into English.
1) Headline:
“Supermarkets replenish empty shelves with rice and toilet paper,” Ming Pao, March. 2
Summary:
Residents queued for food and supplies at Costco in Richmond over the weekend as more cases of the novel coronavirus popped up across North America.
Richmond’s Costco opened its doors half an hour earlier than usual on Sunday to prepare for an increasing number of customers who planned to stockpile if the virus (COVID -19) escalated, according to Ming Pao’s report.
A shopper, who only gave her last name as Li, told Ming Pao that people have been sharing photos on WeChat about customers buying up all stocks of rice at Costco.
After being concerned about the necessities going out of stock, Li decided to do a regular Costco run as well.
Another shopper, who was Korean, said lots of Vancouver-based Korean supermarkets sold out of ramen.
However, a rice supplier, who would only give her name Dong, suggested the public shouldn’t panic-buy or hoard, because the rice supply is sufficient in Canada.
Dong said flour, oil and sugar had been flying off shelves in almost all Asian supermarkets since last Tuesday. Some Asian supermarkets even asked him to deliver food during the weekend when he was off work.
2) Headline:
‘A Chinese Canadian mother faces rental problems after finishing 14 days of isolation at CFB Trenton,’ Sing Tao, Feb. 26.
Summary:
Sing Taopicked up a story about a Chinese Canadian mum - who just finished her 14 days under quarantine at CFB Trenton, Ontario - facing ‘discrimination’ while she was trying to rent a place in Toronto with her child.
The mum, who asked to remain anonymous, told Sing Tao that she evacuated from Wuhan, China due to the coronavirus outbreak. After spending 14 days staying at the military base in Ontario, she decided to go back to Toronto where she had been living for quite a long time.
But she didn’t expect that her nightmare had just begun.
“Lots of landlords heard that I flew from Hubei province, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, they didn’t want to rent their places to me,” said the mom.
“I explained to them my child and I have been following suggestions and guidelines from the Canadian government, we showed them the self-quarantine certificate. But they still rejected my requests.”
The mom has urged the Toronto community to have more tolerance and understanding for people who’ve been released from quarantine.
“Sometimes, I even wish the government can extend the quarantine time, so we can have more time to look for a place.”
3) Headline:
“We won’t forget this experience,” from Wuhan to Canada in coronavirus quarantine, Sing Tao, Feb. 21
Summary: Sing Tao ran a story about a New Westminster resident, Huang, who recalled his journey from Wuhan, China - the epicentre of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) - to 14 days in quarantine at Trenton, Ont.
On Feb. 7, Huang returned to Canada on the first Canadian charter plane from Wuhan. Currently, he is ready to return to his New Westminster home after spending 14 days at a Canadian Forces Base in Trenton.
Huang, who is a Canadian citizen, went back to his hometown of Wuhan with his family members to celebrate Chinese New Year on Jan. 19, but he didn’t expect he would be trapped in the centre of the deadly outbreak. Within weeks, Wuhan had been placed under strict quarantine by the Chinese government.
“Each household could only send one person out every three days; we have barely gone out of our home. Nobody is on the street and only a few vehicles are on the roads.
“As the number of new confirmed cases continued to rise every day, a lot of rumours were being spread online; we were anxious. We don’t know when the coronavirus will come to an end,” Huang told Sing Tao.
Huang reached out to the Canadian embassy for help on Feb. 2. He received a reply from the embassy saying he and his family could get on the first charter flight out of Wuhan back to Canada.
“Canadian government officials took actions immediately, they asked about our health conditions and provided help immediately,” Huang told Sing Tao.
Huang also enjoyed his time at the Canadian Forces Base. His room had an independent laundry room, a TV, microwave and lots of fresh fruits. The Red Cross and military officials even provided blankets and warm clothes for each family, said Huang, adding that he felt welcomed there.
“We won’t forget this experience, and we hope it will never happen again.”
