Photo shows the Huaqiangbei commercial area in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Feb. 24, 2020. Huaqiangbei, a renowned commercial area in Shenzhen for electronics markets, has set up some 100 tents outdoor for commercial tenants to help them resume businesses with epidemic prevention and control measures. Photo: Xinhua

The growing risks of the global coronavirus outbreak have thrown some Chinese living overseas into the dilemma of whether to "leave or stay," creating a new challenge for Chinese cities in containing the backflow of contagion from overseas if residents return, just as China is seeing obvious progress from its battle against the deadly virus.

The dilemma requires Chinese authorities at all levels to strike a balance between considering the needs of Chinese residents overseas and fulfilling the task of winning the coronavirus battle domestically.

Several imported cases of infection from countries such as Iran and Italy, hardest hit by the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19), have been detected in China, including one case from Iran reported in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on Wednesday, another two from Iran reported in Beijing on Saturday, one from Italy reported in East China's Zhejiang Province on Monday, and one from the UK detected in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, on Sunday. 

When coronavirus cases grow rapidly worldwide with new cases of infection outside China exceeding those detected inside the country, some Chinese living overseas are now stuck in a dilemma, prompting them to consider whether to fly home given the country's strong measures to control the coronavirus outbreak which are proving effective.  

In Italy, people under quarantine have protested in the streets, although the number of cases is rising, and an Italian lawmaker was mocked because he was wearing a mask during a lower house meeting. Some Chinese business representatives, tourists and students in Italy interviewed by the Global Times shared common concerns over the lack of public awareness concerning the outbreak, and said they were considering flying back to China. 

While some migrants from Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, who live and work in Italian cities said they would like to return, authorities in Zhejiang have been escalating preventative measures, such as requiring returnees to register their travel history and implementing a 14-day mandatory quarantine at home. Other cities in northeastern regions of China, which have close ties with South Korea and Japan, have also adopted similar entry screening measures to prevent imported infections. 

"Overseas Chinese are an important part of the flow of people in economic globalization, and China cannot keep them out because of the epidemic," Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization, told the Global Times on Monday. 

Preventing them from coming back amid the outbreak would disappoint Chinese people overseas, who have been playing active role in boosting ties between China and other countries. It will also make the international community despise China for not offering help to its own people at a critical time, Wang noted. 

Italy reported a 50 percent daily increase in infections on Sunday, bringing the total numbers to nearly 1,700 with 34 deaths. Cities such as Milan, and towns in Lombardy have been paralyzed by the disease, while some Chinese said they are stocking up on food and daily necessities as they will undergo voluntary quarantine. 

"Some Chinese living here want to go back [to China] but they have concerns over cross infection during the trip. Also, authorities in China encourage us to stay indoors and avoid traveling from Italy to China due to risk of getting infected, and we are following the advice," Chi Xiaoyun, honorary president of the Wenzhou overseas Chinese business chamber in Milan, told the Global Times on Monday. 

In the latest imported case of infection announced by Zhejiang on Monday, a 31-year-old Chinese woman surnamed Wang who lives in Italy came back to China on Friday, even though she displayed symptoms like a cough, headache and diarrhea on February 16, according to local authorities. After she transferred in Moscow, she arrived in Shanghai on Thursday night, then traveled to Qingtian county in Zhejiang on Friday morning, where she was sent for medical observation. She had a nucleic acid test and the result came back positive on Monday. 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Sunday night that Chinese people are expected to cooperate with local authorities in epidemic prevention work in coronavirus-hit countries, including South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

"If the situation further worsens, we'll take the necessary measures to provide assistance and arrange their return to China," Cui Aimin, head of the consular affairs department with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was quoted as saying in the media report. 

Cities in Shandong, Jilin and Liaoning provinces have stepped up scrutiny of travelers arriving from Japan and South Korea. In Qingdao, a major port hub in Shandong, all overseas arrivals are transported to their homes or other designated places for quarantine, while Yantai, another city in the province, offers free nucleic acid tests for all arrivals. 

South Korea reported 599 new coronavirus cases on Monday, raising the total to 4,335, making it the largest outbreak outside China. And more than 960 infections have been confirmed in Japan, leaving some Chinese in Japan wondering whether it is time to return to China. 

"Some people did decide to go back to China, and some have phoned the embassy for advice, but the overall situation is fine, as the local preventive measures have been strengthened and it's suggested to focus on local epidemic control measures," a source close to the matter in Japan told the Global Times on Monday. 

A major focus of China's epidemic control work has been shifting from curbing the spread domestically to prevention of imported infections in recent days, as the new infection cases reported a low on Monday and regions outside Central China's Hubei Province, where epicenter Wuhan is located, reported only five cases, representing a single-digit growth for four days in row. 

Chinese embassy in Iran issues a notice on Saturday urging Chinese citizens not to go back to China through third-party country, and all the people who intend to go back should register with the embassy, according to a statement on the embassy's WeChat account. 

Striking a balance between preventing imported cases and taking care of the needs of Chinese overseas is an important task, Wang Yiwei, dean of the Centre for European Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Monday. 

"It may become possible to set up regional emergency centers overseas in the future to coordinate resources and personnel to deal with similar outbreaks, as bringing Chinese overseas back home is costly and risky," he said, noting that enhancing cooperation with other countries in epidemic control work should also be fully considered. 


Newspaper headline: Chinese overseas fear risk of COVID-19