Chinese Canadians plea for third government evacuation flight

Photo: Contributed

Chinese Canadians whose family members remain in Hubei province, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, are urging the federal government to send a third evacuation plane to bring home Canadians and permanent residents. 

Wuhan and other cities across Hubei province went into lockdown on Jan. 23 as the Chinese government tried to contain the spread of the COVID-19, leaving citizens to have “close to zero” chance of leaving the city. 

Residents across the Lower Mainland who are originally from Hubei province, set up a WeChat group last week and sent an open letter to Global Affairs Canada on Saturday, hoping to reunite with their loved ones who are still trapped in Hubei.

Simon Zheng, a small business owner who works in Richmond and is also part of the WeChat group, told the Richmond News that at least 50 families are still stuck in Hubei, and each family has at least one Canadian citizen in it. 

According to the letter, these families failed to board either of the previous chartered flights due to poor communication and misinformation, language barriers, isolation and mass panic.

"We estimate that the real number of Canadian families still confined in the province of Hubei is in reality much higher than what we have accumulated over the last three days… The longer this ordeal carries on, and the longer the lockdown continues for these unfortunate individuals, the more danger it will impose on the Canadians stuck there," the letter reads. 

"We cannot bear the thought of losing our family members if something were to happen in the next few weeks."

Melanie Huang, a former Richmond resident, is concerned about both of her dad's and grandfather's situation in Wuhan as the coronavirus has claimed more than 2,600 lives so far. 

Huang said her dad flew to China on Jan. 13 to celebrate Chinese New Year with her 89-year-old grandfather, but now he can't return to Canada since all train stations and airports have shut down. 

"The virus has spread quickly over the past few weeks, and hospitals only accept coronavirus-related patients. If seniors slip at home or hurt themselves, they won't get treatment in time," said Huang.