Chinese Celebrities Criticized for Vacationing During COVID-19 Outbreak
Above: Kitty Zhang is criticized for “abandoning” China when the country is in need.
With over 3,000 deaths and over 65 countries around the world reporting over 90,000 cases of the infectious COVID-19 coronavirus, many people have been quietly staying indoors and avoiding public spaces. While China is suffering the most and having little success in controlling the virus outbreak, several local celebrities have been criticized for leaving the country and going on vacations during this critical time.
Chinese actor Lu Yi (陸毅) and wife Bao Lei (鮑蕾) were called out for flying the family to Japan for their vacation.
Known for her roles in CJ7 <長江7號> and The Mermaid <美人鱼>, Kitty Zhang (張雨綺) was also spotted having a blast in Japan with her boyfriend.
As well, other couples such as Yin Zheng (尹正) and Jiang Mengjie (蔣夢婕), and Jacky Heung (向佐) and Bea Hayden (郭碧婷) have all received quite a bit of backlash over the the timing of their vacation decisions.
Netizens expressed that while the country is suffering and going through such difficult times, Chinese citizens should not be watching from the sidelines and abandon everyone by leaving the country. One angry netizen in particular wrote, “If they’re not with us through the good and the bad, are these celebrities even worth chasing?”
Many netizens stated that it is highly inappropriate for celebrities to be having so much fun overseas, and said sarcastically that they should stay there and not come back to China at all.
Source: Ettoday
This article is written by Su for JayneStars.com.
Some people are just crazy.
@anon Agree.
Who in their right mind would stay if they had the choice to leave? Famous or not, health comes first. I would go if I could lol
bukan racist but cina memang gila sikit.. like as if they stay put in the country can help to cure the virus. they cina always have that super jealous feeling toward each other.. feeling or showing an envious resentment of someone or their achievements, possessions, or perceived advantages than them..
It actually seems like it’s being contained better in China. With how the virus is being spread around the world, going to Japan is even more dangerous than staying in China.
Just let them enjoy their vacation
Looks like the longer this coronavirus thing goes on, the crazier people get. What’s next? People aren’t allowed to breathe unless they wear a face mask?
I mean, ok, if those celebrities are ill or whatnot and they still go traveling around the world irresponsibly spreading their illness, then fine, criticize. But if they’re not sick and choose to go on vacation like they normally would? I don’t see a problem with that at all. Those netizens are probably just bitter that they don’t have the means or the finances to leave the country and want everyone else to suffer with them….
@llwy12
I agree and I really want to know your opinion about this whole coronavirus thing. Do you think it is overhyped and all? Everyone in my family is so paranoid about it. My cousin cancelled his trips this summer due to this virus.
I totally agree that those netizens are so annoying. I bet they are just jealous that they do not have the means to travel like the celebrities do. If they are not infected with the virus then why can’t they travel? It is just plain jealousy.
@hetieshou To be honest, I do feel it’s overhyped, but I am not surprised, as that is usually what happens when there is a new strain of something with so many unknown variables (it’s human nature to fear the unknown)…plus it doesn’t help that in today’s world of social media proliferation, anyone can put anything out there so makes it difficult to differentiate between what news is real and what’s fake.
With that said though, I actually haven’t been too worried about the coronavirus thing because my family and I have been following the recommended precautions of washing our hands thoroughly and more often, using hand sanitizer when needed, cleaning and disinfecting more often, etc. I think the important thing too is staying informed and also, as much as possible, vetting the information that is out there about the virus and not just believing the latest rumors that others may pass along. Like all the panic buying of hand sanitizer, water, toilet paper, etc. this past week after the reports of those deaths in Washington, I definitely think it’s going overboard…I mean, being prepared is one thing, but stockpiling is honestly unnecessary. The one measure I do agree with is avoiding large gatherings if possible because from what has come out so far from the CDC and WHO (gathered from research into the various cases around the world so far), the virus spreads more prevalently through respiratory droplets when people cough or sneeze…when there are large crowds with people in close proximity to each other for long periods of time (like at a concert for instance), the risk is greater. At the end of the day though, I think it really depends on each person’s situation…as many of my friends and co-workers have said, they’re not worried about themselves, but they do worry about family members who may have less chance of survival if they were to catch the virus (for example, the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, which so far have been the bulk of the deaths around the world).
@llwy12
Thanks for your take on this issue and I totally agree with you. But I guess it is because this virus is new and unknown so many are just so paranoid and scared. I bet once it becomes common, many will just brush if off like the common cold. Yes, in today’s world when news circulates in a second with just a click of a button, it is hard to differentiate between true or false news.
I have not been that worried even though Washington State is my home state( I live in California now). My uncle and many of my cousins still live there. My uncle is in his early 80s with some health issues but I am not that worried about him since he rarely goes out and my cousins would take good care of him. My cousins are very paranoid so I am not worried about them.
I must say that all of the stockpiling is not necessarily at all and people are just too paranoid. Of course we should take precautions like washing our hands and avoiding large crowds but I do not get why we need to stock up on toilet paper and other things. That is way over the line.
I totally agree that it depends on the situation and if we have elderly or ill family members who have a lesser chance of survival if they caught that virus. My cousin who canceled his trips this summer is in his early 70s so he is of course very scared. His wife who is in her 60s has diabetes so they are scared. However, they are very paranoid and even asked me to look up the price for face masks which was very ridiculously expensive. I find it sick that many are trying to cash in during this tough time instead of helping each other out. Sadly money still takes priority overall. Our world has become a materialistic one… sigh…
@hetieshou it is definitely fear, hoarding face masks when you’re not sick is probably more dangerous than not wearing one since you’re taking face masks away from actual sick people that need them to prevent spreading it.
@tatsumakijim
I agree and another thing I hate is people trying to make money by ripping people off with high prices. We should help each other out instead of take advantage of each other like this. This virus is driving everyone crazy.
No one is allowed to enjoy themselves in China whilst this problem is ongoing it seems.
The virus is on the news every day at the moment.Everyone is freaking out in the UK. I am a lot more wary out in public these days because of the increased racism.
@megamiaow It’s the same growing anxiety felt in the United States. In the New York area, more companies are allowing their employees to work from home as a practice drill in case of major coronavirus spread.
I was shocked by the news of the student from Singapore who was assaulted in London in racist coronavirus attack. His injuries look very severe.
@jayne the irony in that story is that beating up someone you think has Coronavirus only increases your chances of getting it yourself.
@jayne Yup…similar situation here in California. Our governor just declared a state of emergency after our local county declared one almost immediately after news came out that there has been 1 death from the virus up in NorCal (Northern California). The anxiety level is sky-high everywhere unfortunately and as more cases get announced, the panic and stockpiling tendencies are just going to get worse. I was talking to a few friends who are doctors and/or nurses and many of them said their biggest fear is that the hospitals they work at won’t have enough supplies and resources to handle an outbreak if there were to be one in their area – as it is, in many hospitals, there are all sorts of reports of non-frontline medical workers taking face masks, medical supplies, contamination prevention suits, etc. and stockpiling them for personal use, resulting in shortages for those who actually need them (such as those who work in the infectious diseases wards for example). One of my co-workers whose wife is a nurse said that the hospital she works at has resorted to locking up face masks and other protective gear in the same vaults where medicines are stored and implementing the same strict security procedures in order to access them (for example – need to have a special badge, vault code, fill out logs detailing exactly what is being taken and for what, etc.). Stockpiling supplies from the store is one thing, but to hoard critically needed supplies from hospitals for personal use instead of saving them for people who truly need them, it’s definitely wrong on so many levels. It’s sad how fear and panic will push people to do such nasty things….
@llwy12
Oh gosh, I just saw that on the news and they are freaking out over one death. I feel the panic and paranoid attitude is worse than then virus itself. Many of my cousins are nurses and are very worried about supply shortages as many regular citizens are buying and hoarding supplies. My sister in law works at the pharmacy and said that all masks, hand sanitizers and stuff were all sold out…. the panic and paranoia is getting bad…
@jayne
I honestly find it very sad that the coronavirus is causing so many racist related incidents like that. It made me both sad and angry. I was sick for weeks and just recovered recently but still have a bit of a cough. I was so mad that people would discriminate against me as I am Asian and had a cough. Some thought I had the virus and was trying to avoid me in public.
I am just hoping this incident gets better so all this discrimination against Asians would stop. We have enough problems already so do not need more issues to deal with.
@jayne yes it seemed to be completely unprovoked. He was just walking along the street, heard a racist comment and got struck. Apparently they are trying to find the guys but most likely nothing will come of it.
I do think they target us more because we are in the very minority here. If the virus originated from Africa or India I doubt they have time to attack black people or asians with the amount of them around.