China News Service, May 19 (Xinhua) According to a report by the American Overseas Chinese, the shadow of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic is still hovering over New York. Chinese restaurants in Chinatown are affected by the epidemic, and many shops have been closed.
According to the "Washington Post" report, before the formal implementation of social isolation in New York and the cessation of dinning, Zhou Mei's restaurant business has been much worse than before: since late January, her restaurant will 20% reduction in business, until one day, the restaurant only received 3 orders.
Asian rights advocates and researchers said that during the epidemic, Asian companies are facing heavy pressure, and this pressure will not be eased with the reopening and resumption of production in individual regions of the United States. During the epidemic, the unemployment rate of Asians increased faster than other ethnic groups, and Chinese restaurants, like many other minority-owned shops, faced difficulties in obtaining government assistance, and the road to economic recovery was bumpy.
The outlook for the Chinese food industry is slim
In mid-February, while analysts were still predicting that the restaurant industry would suffer losses due to "closing the city," business owners in Houston's Chinatown had already felt the severe impact of the epidemic.
As the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic spreads to the United States, the status of Asian companies struggling to survive has gradually disappeared from the spotlight. Even because of social isolation measures, these companies are facing a wider range of business shutdowns, less income and a slimmer future.
As of April, according to analysis by Robert Fairlie, an economics professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, nearly 10% of companies with Asian shares in the United States are restaurants or other food companies, and their share Far higher than other business types.
Experts say that Asian business owners are very important to their communities, and their losses also mean community losses.
According to Chen Zuozhou, administrative director of the Chinatown Commercial Reform District in New York, in mid-March, after New York City announced a full closure of the city, less than half of the restaurants in Manhattan ’s Chinatown were still open and providing take-out services.
"I hope officials will pay more attention to this situation," said Chinatown resident Jennifer Tam.
Asian owners face a double predicament
Out of "the fear of the virus itself, and the fear of the hatred caused by the virus," more and more Chinese restaurants are even abandoning online orders and delivery. Vicente Reed, CEO of the Arizona Asian Chamber of Commerce ( Vicente Reid) said.
In Georgia, despite the great efforts of various industries to resume work, a couple who runs a Chongqing hot pot restaurant in the suburbs of Atlanta still have the same concerns as others: what if they are infected with the virus? What if a new wave of outbreaks arrives and restaurants are forced to close?
"I am very worried about whether my husband can be safe in this atmosphere." Gina said. She is a white woman and her husband Liang Rivers is from China. Gina Rivers believes that it is racism that deepens the anxiety of Asian business owners.
Liang Rivers has been opening Sichuan restaurants in the United States for more than ten years. He said what really worried him was that people did not wear masks when entering the store, and that they had lost half of their business.
Historian Ellen Wu, who studies Asian life in the United States, is worried that public propaganda to promote the well-being of Asian communities will be undermined by unfriendly speech about the new coronavirus. (Xin Muyan)