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Student stuck in Wu Han writes open letter to the world: “Not all Chinese are bad people”

A student at an Australian University who got stuck in Wu Han after she traveled back to China to spend Chinese New Year writes an open letter to the people outside her country to explain their current situation amid the outbreak of 2019-nCoV.

Helen Chen narrated her story via a Facebook post after seeing many negative comments threw by some netizens against the Chinese amid the outbreak in Wu Han, saying that she was saddened by the reaction of the world to what’s happening to them.

According to her, people should not generalize all Chinese, saying that not all of them are eating exotic foods which is the possible origin of the coronavirus.

She also explained how Chinese New Year is important to the people of China, pointing out that it’s a once-in-a-year family reunion but the coronavirus is ruining the said event because many nurses and doctors need to prioritize their work than going home.

Chen then tried to convince the people that not all Chinese are bad people and people should not blame all the people from China on what’s happening right now.

You can read her post below:

“I’m one of the millions in Wuhan right now who is affected by this. It is heartbreaking to see comments here saying how we deserve it.”

“Yes. Some people are disgusting and uneducated, they eat everything that moves and have total disregard for health/safety regulations. But most people aren’t like that. Most of us are just normal folks living a normal life. We are just as angry at those exotic animal traders as you are, if not more.”

“It’s CNY, and in case you’re not familiar with the Chinese culture, let me first put into perspective it’s importance. It’s like thanksgiving and Christmas combined. Historical/Traditional significance aside, for millions of people, CNY is the only time of the year where families get to reunite and have a home cooked meal together. It is more common than not for chinese people in more rural areas to go to cities to find better work opportunities. They work hard for the whole year, sending home the little money they earn to support their children and parents. Families don’t get to see each other for a whole year and reunion dinner on CNY eve is something everyone looks forward to.”

“The coronavirus is taking away the only time of the year that families get to reunite. Doctors and nurses are working around the clock, many of them have not gone home in weeks; healthcare professionals across China are flying voluntarily to Wuhan to help; factory workers have resumed work due to the shortage of masks and protective suits; 3M and other companies are donating masks too; hotels across Wuhan have offered free accomodation to healthcare professionals whose home are too far away; chain convenient stores are providing free hot meals to hospitals and workers; delivery man have to give up their holidays to deliver food to families because we can’t leave our homes; construction workers are working around the clock to build new hospitals… do all these people working tireless to save lives deserve to get affected too??? Those selfish exotic animal traders have taken away precious family time from all these people who are literally putting their lives in danger to help others, and yet on the Internet, these unsung heroes are being lumped together with them, criticised condemned and humiliated. It’s really heartbreaking. Those people don’t deserve any of it.”

“As of now, most of our fridges are still fully stocked from CNY, but what about in a week or even a couple of days when we run out of food? My parents just came back from the supermarket and many shelves are empty. Public transport have shut down completely, from today onwards vehicles unrelated to the containment of coronavirus will not be allowed on roads too, no one is allowed to leave Wuhan. So let me ask you, do all of us deserve this too? Especially during a time of supposed celebration. I’m not even a permanent resident here, I am just home for the holidays after being away for more than a year. But now I can’t leave to go back to Uni. I’m sure there are many people in similar situations as me. I hope I’m not coming off as playing the victim. I’m merely trying to tell my side of the story. And I’m so sorry the virus has now spread to other countries. I truly am very sorry. But not all Chinese are bad people. Not all are selfish and entitled and just downright disgusting human beings. I don’t think it’s fair for you to say that we all “deserve” it because of the terrible behaviours of some.”

As of writing, the post of Chen already reached 46,000 shares and 67,000 reactions from the netizens.

Most of the netizens who read the post of Chen cheered her and offered their prayers for China.

Source [1]

Netizen explains how Duterte wakes everybody about the issues of the country: “God has made a way to put Duterte in power para gisingin tayong mga Pilipino!”

Amid the heightened criticisms being received by President Rodrigo Duterte on social media because of the 2019-novel coronavirus scare, a netizen tried to defend the chief executive and reminded the critics that what they’re doing is not effective anymore.

On a lengthy Facebook post, netizen Noel Landero Sarifa said that the opposition who are also called ‘dilawans’ by some people, already used all possible method to lower the popularity of the President, but always turned out to be a failure.

Sarifa also said that even if he wanted to, he believes that Duterte is not planning to extend his term anymore.

“Oppositions and self-entitled woke, feeling know it all mga dilawan still can’t accept the fact na until now Duterte is still our president and no matter what they do, black propaganda, Bikoy video, all altered media headlines showing him being weak, being late, the bad guy, failed government kuno. You can get all the negativity in the world and pour it over to our president but we will never, see him the way you do or the way you wanted to.” said Sarifa.

“Natatakot kayo sa Dictatorship and Duterte staying in power? I don’t think it will happen, if it does I will rejoice, you know why? He has awakened us to the real state of the nation and he has done a great job for this country that no one has ever done for the longest time,”

The netizen then listed several things that Duterte did to wake up the nation on the real issues of the country:

“Nang dahil kay Duterte nalaman natin na milyon-milyon ang adik sa Pilipinas at hinayaan ng nakaraang administrations na lumubo sa ganito ang population nila. At andami sa kanila ang galit kay Duterte kasi hindi na sila malayang makapagbenta at makagamit,”

“Nang dahil kay Duterte nalaman natin na marami palang pera ang Pilipinas na pwede itugon sa pangangangailangan ng Bansa, free tuition, free irrigation, free hospitalization, free wi-fi at madaming pang libre, na kaya palang baguhin ang taxation at bawasan ang tax na kinakaltas sa sahod natin at kunin ang tax sa ibang paraan tulad ng sigarilyo at alak,”

“Nang dahil kay Duterte nalaman natin na lumalangoy na tayo sa isang tourist spot na direktang tinatapunan ng dumi,”

“Nang dahil kay Duterte nakita natin na kaya naman palang pabilisin ang mga infrastructure project. Simulan at matapos sa takdang panahon at kaya naman palang punduhan,”

“Nang dahil kay Duterte nakita natin kung paano laruin ng mga negosyante ang merkado, Kaya nilang itago ang mga Bigas at sasabihing kulang sa supply at pwede nilang taasan ang presyo, kaya nilang gutumin ang taong bayan. Kaya nilang pababain ang bilihan ng palay at gutumin ang ating magsasaka tapos isisi sa gobyerno,”

“Nang dahil kay Duterte nalaman natin ang kagaguhan ng ginagawa ng sangay ng Gobyerno, at may naayos at inaayos na ito ngayon,”

“Nang dahil kay Duterte nalaman natin na wala naman pala talagang kakulangan sa supply sa tubig, ginigipit lang nila ang supply para makahingi ng dagdag singil, may mga onerous contract pa!”

“Nang dahil kay Duterte nalaman natin na ang ibang Media ay may pinapanigan at nababayaran. Hindi rin sila nagbabayad ng utang sa gobyerno,”

“Nang dahil kay Duterte mas maliwanag ang panlilinlang ng mga Elitista, na pinapaikot lang tayo sa kanilang mga kamay, ginagawa lang tayong gatasan ng pera,”

“Nang dahil kay Duterte nalaman natin na maraming mayayaman ang mas yumayaman kasi hindi sila nagbabayad ng buwis at obligasyon nila sa gobyerno,”

“Nang dahil kay Duterte nalaman natin kung sino ang tunay na sakim sa kapangyarihan, na nagagamit ang pondo ng pamahalaan para sa mga rebelde,”

“NANG DAHIL KAY DUTERTE NAMULAT TAYO SA KATOTOHANAN,”

According to Sarifa, the best contribution of the President is to inform the people about the problems of the country, however some netizens are still insiting that what the chief executive was doing is wrong and kept criticizing him.

He also believed that the majority of the people cannot be affected by the ‘black propagandas’ being thrown against the current administration.

“If kagustuhan nyong mamuhay sa sarili nyong mundo at maniwala sa black propaganda, choice nyo yun, pero kami gising na. Sabi nga nila, truth is relative. If you believe it, it is true for you. If I don’t believe it, it is not true for me. You choose to see the negative side of Duterte and we will respect that, we choose to see the good in him and what changes he is doing for this country and what changes he can bring for this country,”

“Dito kami sa positive, dyan kayo sa negative, but the silent majority is not yours, it is ours. The survey says it, the overflowing support of netizen shows, numbers don’t lie. Kaya sya nanalo kasi mas marami kaming naniwala at mas marami pang maniniwala. Kaya walang nanalo isa man sa otso-diretso kasi gising na ang karamihan sa mga Pilipino,”

Sarifa then urged the people to just support the President until his term ends.

“Did he run for presidency to stay in power? Sino ba ang gahaman sa kapangyarihan? Ang taong gustong gampanan ang tungkulin at itama ang pagkakamali sa paraang alam nya o ang taong gustong pabagsakin ang pangulo dahil gusto nila sila lang ang may karapatang mamuno sa Bansa? Napakasimpleng tanong na alam natin lahat ang sagot pero may mga taong ayaw tanggapin ang katotohanan. He is old and he has done so much, hayaan nating matapos ang termino nya ng maayos at ng may pagkakaisa, para sa bayan,”

The post of Sarifa already reached 1,000 shares on social media.

Sarifa made the said post after several groups called for the ouster of President Duterte who only have two years left in his term.

Source [1]

BREAKING: Filipino seafarer found positive for 2019-novel coronavirus

A Filipino seafarer has been found positive of 2019 novel coronavirus, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday confirmed.

According to the report, the Filipino seafarer is working for the Princess Cruises ship line and was quarantined off Yokohama together with his nine colleagues after they were found positive in the 2019-nCoV.

This is the first known case of a Filipino being infected by the said virus.

Aside from the Filipino, there are also 3 Japanese, Hong Kong resident, two Chinese, two Australians and One American showed symptoms of nCoV.

“The length of the quarantine will be at least 14 days as required by the Ministry of Health,” Princess Cruises said.

The Japanese Government also quarantined the 2666 guest and 1,045 crew members on board the ship.

Reports said that they’re not allowed to go outside their cabins and only medical officials are allowed to give them their daily needs during the quarantine period.

Cruise ship Diamond Princess 

Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo said that there are at least 538 Filipinos on board the said ship and already acting to help them.

“The Embassy is in constant communication with the remaining Filipinos onboard and is closely coordinating with Japanese authorities to provide them all possible assistance,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

“Gigil na gigil!” Pilo Hilbay curses while reacting to Duterte’s statement: “P.I paano mo tutulungan ang Pilipinas?”

Defeated senatorial candidate and former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay couldn’t hide his anger anymore towards President Rodrigo Duterte after the latter defended the Chinese people amid the 2019-nCoV scare in the Philippines.

On a tweet, Hilbay made a comment to Duterte’s call to end the Sinophobia or bad treatment against the Chinese in the Philippines.

He called Duterte a ‘puppet’ and asked how he’s going to help the Filipinos amid the possible outbreak in the country.

“Oo ser alam na naming tuta ka, pero ang tanong: P***** I** PAANO MO TUTULUNGAN ANG PILIPINAS AT ANG MGA PILIPINO?” Hilbay said.

One of his followers expressed concern over the temper of Hilbay and asked him to calm down.

“Kalma lang pañero. Ang puso mo,” @atty_don told Hilbay.

“asar e. sige, shot muna ko ng gin,” Hilbay responded.

Hilbay is one of the critics of the Duterte administration and China.

On his past tweet, Hilbay also claimed that China tried to hide the outbreak to the world.

“China didn’t disclose the full extent of the new coronavirus outbreak. It stifled the free flow of information. That is why people, institutions, & organizations weren’t able to react properly. The Philippines should learn from this error. YOU CAN’T STOP AN OUTBREAK W CENSORSHIP,” he said.

In a press conference in Malacanang Monday, Duterte said that the public should refrain from treating the Chinese badly in the country.

“China has been kind to us. We can only also show the same favor to them. Stop this sinophobia,” Duterte said.

“You know it is not only a case of bad taste but it is not good for us Filipinos to be saying that. Ngayon (Now) they are blaming the Chinese na galing sa (coming from) China. It could always incubate in some other places. It happened in China, at least the first. But that is not the fault of anybody. Not the Chinese, not the Filipino, no one,” he added.

Sen. Bong Go to bashers of Duterte admin amid nCoV scare: “Kayo ang dapat i quarantine para hindi kayo makahawa!”

Senator Christopher “Bong” Go had already enough with the critics of the Duterte administration and spreader of fake news amid the 2019 novel coronavirus scare in the Philippines.

During the hearing of the Senate on the 2019-nCoV, Go mentioned the ‘bashers’ and trolls’ who are only spreading negative thoughts and false information on social media to destroy the popularity of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Go told the people he mentioned that they’re also should be put in quarantine like the suspected nCoV carriers.

“Yung mga panay dada naman diyan para lang makapagsalita, mga bashers na sumasakay sa sitwasyon para sa pansariling interes, mga taong gusto lang magdulot ng panic, at mga nagpapakalat ng fake news, kayo ang dapat i-quarantine para hindi kayo makahawa,” said Go.

He urged the critics of the government on social media to show themselves and participate in the senate hearing so they could contribute in the fight against nCoV.

“Sa mga trolls at bashers naman, welcome kayo pumunta dito sa public hearing, sumali kayo. Pakiusap ko po, tumulong na lang tayo. Unahin natin ang kapakanan, kalusugan at interes ng bawat Pilipino,” he said.

The Senator from Davao City insisted that the government is doing its best to prevent the spread of the virus.

Go also urged the people not to blame the Chinese for the nCoV scare and instead, help each other.

“We empathize with China given what they are going through but we are putting these precautionary measures in place to protect the country and its people… As part of a community, the Philippine government should be committed to assist other affected countries to address this worldwide health concern,” he said.

The current administration faced its biggest challenge this year as the Department of Health (DOH) already confirmed two cases of nCoV in the country.

Criticisms against the government heightened, and even politicians like Senator Francis Pangilinan couldn’t hide their disappointment with the current administration.

“Kung sa tingin ng gobyerno na ligtas ang ating mga kababayan at hindi kailangan ng travel ban sa mga galing ng China dapat mula airport derecho silang lahat sa Malakanyan,” Pangilinan said, who’s also the President of Liberal Party.

 

Atty. Harry Roque slams ‘yellows’ for doing politicking amid nCoV scare: We did not ban Americans when they have a virus outbreak

Former Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque criticized the ‘yellows’ for trying to politicize the 2019 novel coronavirus by pushing President Rodrigo Duterte to be the first country to ban travelers from mainland China.

On Roque’s Facebook post, he claimed that only Filipinos seem to talk about politics in the middle of 2019-nCoV and don’t want to accept the decision of the government to wait for the World Health Organization’s (WHO) announcement before making such travel bans.

“Only in the Philippines will you see enemies of the administration politicizing even a public health crisis such as the novel coronavirus (nCoV). Sure, countries may have beaten us in banning all flights from Mainland China by a day or two. But as soon as the WHO (World Health Organization) declared the nCoV as an international public health emergency, the President followed suit and banned all flights originating from China, Macau and Hong Kong,” said Roque.

“The yellows, as usual, claimed it was our subservience to China that led to the belated banning. Rubbish. It was the science that led to the President’s decision. Without the WHO declaration, an earlier total ban on any contact with China would have been driven by hysteria or, worse, xenophobia,” he added.

“By banning flights from China after the WHO declaration, we only responded in the same manner as almost all countries in the world did. Yes, I’m sure our newfound friendship did count in PRRD’s decision. What is wrong with that? After all, as Filipinos, we know the true value of friendship.” he also said.

The lawyer then reminded the Filipino people that not only China is the country that brought a virus in the country.

Roque mentioned that the government didn’t ban the Americans to visit the Philippines during the H1N1 outbreak.

He insisted that the decision of the government to issue travel bans should be “based on science and not panic and hysteria”.

A few days ago, netizens criticized the current administration for not immediately issuing a travel ban on China.

Some Chinese who are already in the Philippines also reportedly received bad treatment from some Filipinos they encountered as they seen as a possible carrier of nCoV.

Singer Leah Navarro explains why removing Leni Robredo as Vice President is a good idea

Singer Leah Navarro who’s a well-known supporter of the opposition participated in the recently trending Twitter topic calling for Vice President Leni Robredo’s ouster.

Navarro didn’t mind contributing on the #OUSTLENI2020 topic on Twitter and even made a post explaining why removing Robredo from her current position in the government is an “awesome idea”.

On her Tweet, Navarro said that ousting Robredo from Vice Presidency could also mean that she’s going to be the replacement of President Rodrigo Duterte.

She confidently claimed that Robredo is going to perform better than Duterte who also has gone viral on Twitter after the hashtag OUSTDUTERTE became trending on the said social media platform.

“Awesome idea! #OUSTLENI2020 as Vice President and make her President! President Leni would do a far better job at solving our problems than Duterte. She’s not on Fentanyl and has a true heart for our people,” Navarro said.

Navarro’s post was swarmed by comments from Duterte supporters.

“Yes @leahnavarro that’s awesome idea & would be more awesome if you and #OustDuterte alipores will go to streets and make sure your number of tweets will reflect to pipol attending rallies etc. Fyi Twitter can’t do anything to oust the Duterte,” netizen Rae Mark told Navarro.

“Yes, Aling Leni can do better than Duterte in terms of picture taking, meryenda, hakot media, Sangkatirbang camera, Walang katapusang pagkabahala, nababalot ng kadiliman. No need to #OUSTLENI2020. as she is not using Fentanyl but katol :)” @eiseace commented.

“Wag ganon ilulubog mo n naman ang bansa natin eh. Sige nga ano na bang nagawa ni leni sa bansa aside from protektahan yong yong mga adik,” @dontbeshaken remarked.

Amid the nCoV controversy, the supporters of President Duterte clashed with the opposition followers and tried to show their numbers on social media.

The supporters of the President, called for the ouster of Robredo while the followers of the opposition asked for the removal of Duterte from his office.

“Satisfied kami!” World Health Organization praises Duterte admin’s action against 2019-nCoV

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that they’re satisfied with the action of the Duterte administration to prevent the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus in the Philippines, saying that they’re doing a great job in responding to the situation.

“We are satisfied so far with the measures being implemented by the government of the Philippines,” WHO Representative to the Philippines, Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said in a press conference in Malacanang on Monday.

“WHO commends their [sic] actions taken by the Philippine Government to strengthen its preparedness, to build capacity to detect cases,” he added.

“I believe that the Philippine government has been responding to an evolving situation,” Abeyasinghe also said.

WHO vowed to continue working with the Philippine government to “increase its preparedness and response capacities” in dealing with the nCoV outbreak.

“We continue to work with them to increase their preparedness in case there is evidence of local transmission,” he said.

After seeing the action of the government, Abeyasinghe expressed his confidence that nCoV is going to be controlled soon in the Philippines.

WHO made the said statement amid the criticisms being received by the government from some netizens, accusing the government officials of not doing their best to prevent nCoV from spreading around the country.

Some people even called for the resignation of President Rodrigo Duterte and criticized him for letting the tourists from mainland China enter the country despite the outbreak in Wuhan.

 

“Hindi kami nananaginip!” Group wants to organize People Power 3 in February to oust President Duterte

Amid the nCoV scare, a group is planning to organize a mass demonstration in EDSA Shrine on February 22, 2020, and they’re hoping that the said gathering could pressure President Rodrigo Duterte to leave his office.

Enzo Recto, one of the most vocal netizens about the ‘People Power 3’ event said that they’re a member of a group called ‘BUNYOG’ which means ‘United’.

According to him, they’re already tired of President Duterte’s performance and expressed dissatisfaction with the action of the government during the Taal volcano erption and failing to prevent the spread of 2019-nCoV in the Philippines.

“Nang mag-erupt ang Taal, mas private sector ang tumugon sa pangangailangan ng mga tao. Ngayong pumutok ang krisis sa coronavirus, mas inisip pa ng gobyerno ang ikakasama ng loob ng China kung iba-ban ang mga Intsik sa pagpasok sa bansa, kaysa sa sariling kapakanan at kaligtasan ng sariling mamamayan.” 

“Wala na talaga. Failure of governance na ito. Hindi lang si Duterte, lahat ng sangay ng gobyerno, at lahat ng mga pulitiko ay wala nang silbi sa bansa at sa mga tao. Si Secretary Duque at ang Department of Health, hindi makapagrekomenda ng pag-ban sa pagpasok ng mga Intsik sa bansa dahil takot na baka magalit si Duterte. Ang mga congressman at mga senador, mga walang masabi. Busog na busog sa pork barrel at mga insertions sa kaa-approve pa lang na 2020 budget. Ang AFP at PNP tahimik rin lang sa mga nangyayari. Lahat ayaw banggain si Duterte, kahit alam na nilang napakaseryoso na ng sitwasyon dahil napakaraming Intsik na ang nasa bansa at patuloy pa ang pagdagsa.” he added.

“Kung wala na silang mga silbi, panahon nang bawiin ng mga tao ang kapangyarihang pinahiram sa kanila. “Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.” #OustDuterteNow! #PeoplePowerNa!” he also said.

Recto also made a lengthy message to convince everyone to join the ‘People Power 3’ to express their opposition against the current government.

In his other post, Recto also showed that other groups already expressed their desire to join the said event.

It seems that Recto’s social media promotion is effective as the news already reached other pro-opposition groups like “Senator Trillanes Power”.

Recto also has a message to the supporters of President Duterte who downplayed their planned event.

The Palace is not yet releasing a comment on the said plan of the pro-opposition groups in their attempt to organize People Power.

People Power is a well-known event in the Philippines where people are gathering to oust the sitting President in a peaceful way.

The previous people power events successfully removed two chief executives, former Presidents Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph Estrada.

“Para mahawa?” Netizens slam priest for suggesting that people positive in nCoV should visit Pres. Duterte or Sen. Go’s room

Netizens couldn’t stop themselves from criticizing a Catholic Priest for his comments about the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak.

A few days ago, Father Eric Sarmiento Salamat earned negative comments from the netizens after he made a post suggesting that the people who got infected by the 2019-nCoV should be put in President Rodrigo Duterte’s room.

Salamat also mentioned Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, a close political ally of the President on his now-deleted Facebook post.

In his post, the priest wrote:

“May 2 places lang sana na pwedeng i-confine ang mga Intsik na nasa Pinas na positive sa coronavirus:

1. Sa kwarto ni Pres. Digong

2. Sa kwarto ni Sen. Bong Go…

Tapos magkwentuhan sila dun ng mga chekwang fairy tales.”

Despite getting deleted, netizens archived the post and reshared it on social media.

Salamat’s post captured the attention of the netizens, including social media blogger Ahmed Paglinawan who expressed his desire to meet the priest personally.

He even asked the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Romulo Valles, if he knows Fr. Salamat personally.

“Ninong Muloy Valles,  Do you know this guy? Can you introduce me to him please? I need to see what’s going on in his head. A bit about that racism he has going on in there,” Paglinawan said.

Some netizens even questioned if Salamat is really a Catholic because his comment seems to lack sensitivity.

“Imbes ipagdasal ni Father ung mga Chinese n may skit.. Gnyan p cnasabi nya.. Hey, Father, anuman pong lahi, katoliko man o hindi.. nilikha cla ng Diyos, mpagmahal ang Panginoon, sna gnun ka din.. Kaya minsan ako bilang Katoliko (Roman Catholic) nwawalan ng gana mkinig s mga kparian, homily hinahaluan ng politics.. Mas gusto ko pa mkinig sa preach ng mga Born Again Christian.. Haist,” netizen Anne Magaway commented.

“Ano ba yan kya nakakawalang gana magsimba dahil sa mga paring kagaya nto.. Ipinagdadasal ko sa dyos na yung paring ganito at mga tao na ang pagiisip ai baluktot at puro kagalitancang laman ng puso at isipan naway paglinawin ng panginoon ang isipan nyo.. Nakakalungkot na mismo tga simbahan pa ang nag nagpapakalat ng hate,” netizen Wowie Aspiras remarked.

As of writing, Salamat is not yet releasing a statement on the criticisms he received. His Facebook profile is also nowhere to be found.