MasterChef Australia star Diana Chan has urged people to support local Chinese restaurants following racism and xenophobia towards Asian-Australian communities in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The 2017 winner of the cooking reality show said many Australians have refrained from dining at Chinese eateries because they are āafraidā of catching the disease, however she argued that they shouldnāt be so fearful because āviruses are not discriminatory to a raceā.
āIf you were going to catch it, you could catch it anywhere,ā Chan told HuffPost Australia. āItās not necessarily in a Chinese restaurant and confined spaces. It can happen anywhere. It shouldnāt stop you going about your daily lives.ā
The celebrity chef said people should seek comfort in outlets having the āduty of care as well to look after the patrons and make sure that they handle food with top hygieneā.
MasterChef Australiaās new judge Melissa Leong agreed. In an article she penned for SBS, the Singaporean Australian said: āAs media campaigns and hashtags jump on the bandwagon to rescue this part of the industry, itās even more impetus to visit your favourite Chinese restaurant, if ever there was oneā.
Both Chan and Leongās comment come after the #IWillEatWithYou social media campaign recently gained momentum.
Community action organisation GetUp! introduced the hashtag last week, asking its supporters: āCan you pledge #IWillEatWithYou & eat at an Asian restaurant to show your support?ā
āWhile other restaurants and public spaces are still buzzing, it is the Chinatown restaurants and Asian grocers that stand empty. Panic around the virus is unfairly impacting Chinese and Asian communities,ā the organisation stated on its website.
āIf we donāt take action ā people will lose their jobs, and their livelihoods. Can you take the pledge to defeat baseless fears and support these businesses in their time of need?ā
Earlier this month Gabriel Chan, the owner of Melbourneās Chinatown restaurant Shark Fin, said he was closing the doors to the 30-year-old eatery after business had suffered.
āāItās very hard... With customer fears of coronavirus still high, āāwe can see numbers reducingā,ā he told The Age.
āWeāre very sad, very unhappy, but we still have to work, so I would tell the people donāt scare, come to the restaurant, support us.ā
Mr Chan also owns sister restaurant, Shark Fin Inn. He said he made the decision to close one of his businesses down in order for the other to survive.
The restaurateur told the publication that customer numbers had dropped by 80 per cent, while more than 40 staff, plus 10 casuals had been let go.
Australia has 22 confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19), eight in Queensland, four in NSW, six in Victoria, three in South Australia and one in Western Australia.