China News Service, June 30, according to the BBC's Chinese website, under the New Crown Pneumonia epidemic, Chinatown (Chinatown) was affected everywhere, countless Chinese shops and restaurants were forced to close, and they were also subjected to hate crimes. . With the arrival of the "new normal", Chinatown in the UK looks forward to coming out of the shadows as soon as possible.
The article is excerpted as follows:
Dating back to the Lunar New Year in January this year, Birmingham's Chinatown still held celebrations, but the crowd was significantly less than in previous years.
At that time, words such as isolation, unpaid leave, quarantine and quarantine had not yet entered the daily life of the British, but many Chinese in the UK had begun to isolate themselves.
As long as the British Prime Minister Johnson ordered the closure of restaurants and cafes and a comprehensive blockade in mid-March, the business of Chinatown restaurants had plummeted. Nearly 5 months later, boss Wang, who runs a Chinese restaurant in Birmingham, is stepping up to resume business.
With the development of the British epidemic, racism and xenophobia have also been encountered in Chinatown, Chinese, Chinese shops and restaurants everywhere. Boss Wang said that the new crown virus has brought stigma to Chinatown, but he believes that Birmingham is very diverse, and many people still like to eat Chinese food.
Boss Wang’s Chinese-English restaurant is about to resume business on July 4th. He separated the dining table by 3 meters and set up an outdoor dining area outside the restaurant. The counter also has a transparent partition, customers can use the electronic ordering system, or use the disposable menu to order food; each guest must measure the body temperature.
Another Malaysian restaurant in Birmingham’s Chinatown closed for almost a month after the blockade began. It was later changed to a takeaway shop, which only serves takeout and provides food delivery services. Boss Wen of the takeaway shop said that the closure of the restaurant could not sustain his livelihood, and he could only change the business model and temporarily only provide takeaway and food delivery services.
Under this epidemic, the Chinese supermarket Rongye, which supplies Chinese restaurants and takeaways, was also affected. After the quarantine began, the business plummeted and Rongye shortened its business hours.
Recently, after the food delivery service and food delivery service resumed business, the business has improved slightly, but the second-generation boss Ye is not optimistic about the future business. He is worried that people will reduce the number of dining out after the epidemic. "Restaurants and takeaways are an important pillar of the catering industry. I hope people will have confidence to come back."
The property management unit in Birmingham’s Chinatown said that 18 of the more than 80 commercial firms in Chinatown have indicated that they will reopen on July 4.
Property management manager Julia Robinson said they are trying to persuade local governments to close the streets so that people can have more space to move around, and they can also dine outside. She said that after the restaurant resumes business, they hope to create a free and relaxing space for customers to come here to enjoy food. But some restaurants have closed completely and will not reopen.
Robinson said there may be more shops closed and closed. "In the past few months, they have to pay rent and property service fees, but they have no business income. 15% of the businesses here do not receive any government assistance."
But she called on Chinatown businessmen to remain confident, "We will stick to it." "We are all part of the Birmingham family, and we need everyone to come out and support us."
Boss Wang also hopes that locals can restore their confidence and continue to consume in Chinatown under the "new normal".