Thomas Derksen Photo: screenshot from video posted by Thomas Derksen on Sina Weibo Wednesday

A video titled "Don't isolate China, isolate the virus" posted on Wednesday by a German blogger on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo soon gathered more than 25,000 likes and over 5,500 reposts. 

Shanghai-based Thomas Derksen, also known by his Chinese nickname Afu, originally posted the video on Facebook on Monday, earning 18,000 likes and 14,000 shares. Chinese netizens extended gratitude to Derksen and suggested he post it to Sina Weibo.  

"Normally I speak Chinese or German in my videos, even it's not perfect, but I decided to speak English in this video, so more people can understand my message," said Derksen in the video. He expressed that he was upset by the discriminations some of his Chinese friends had encountered overseas. 

"As global citizens living on the same planet, the first thing we should think of is how we can support and help each other. What we need now is compassion… Let us isolate the virus, not the people," he said.  

Many Chinese netizens were touched by the positive message, as well as by the many people from different countries who also spoke out to share this belief. 

A video posted Thursday on TikTok showed that people were holding signs such as "China ≠ virus," "xenophobia = virus" and "stop bullying." The post was captioned "seen in downtown Madrid. Such a heart-warming scene! Stay strong, China!" The post instantly earned more than 23,200 likes. 

"Thank you. Love has no border," responded Chinese netizens.  

Looking back a bit on Monday, Amir Gal-Or, honorary president of the Israel Chamber of Commerce in China, posted a message on Sina Weibo in both English and Chinese: "As a Jewish person I am ashamed of the recent incidents around the world regarding what seems to be racism against Chinese."

"I am disappointed to see people from different countries taking a one side view of the coronavirus using prejudiced views, leveraging the misfortune for political economical targets," he wrote in the English post. The post also included a picture of a sign reading "Jews not allowed." Such signs were put in many places in Europe during the last century, he noted. 

The post was flooded with comments from Chinese netizens, who shared the same message, "Thank you very much, especially during such a difficult time."

Global Times