Trudeau cautions against anti-Chinese sentiments as fears over new coronavirus grow
Posted February 2, 2020 7:53 am.
TORONTO (NEWS 1130) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is warning against a rise of racism towards the Chinese community as the new coronavirus continues to worry some Canadians.
At a Lunar New Year event in Toronto on Saturday, Trudeau said anti-Chinese sentiments are not welcome in Canada.
“Let me be clear. There is no place in our country for discrimination driven by fear or misinformation,” he said. “This not something Canadians will ever stand for.”
So far in Canada there have been four confirmed cases of the Wuhan coronavirus, which has infected almost 10,000 people globally in the last two months.
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A number of countries are moving to bar entry to most people who may have visited China in the past two weeks, closing borders and cancelling flights.
There have also been reports of restaurants in South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Vietnam that have refused to accept Chinese customers. And protests have broken out in Indonesia, demanding the removal of Chinese hotel guests.
Newspapers in France and Australia have been criticized for racist headlines and Chinese and other Asians in Europe and New Zealand are also complaining of racial discrimination.
-With files from The Associated Press
