When fighting the coronavirus, many countries make efforts to bring their citizens home from infected countries. However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) refused to bring Chinese citizens in Russia home. The China’s Ambassador to Russia said about those Chinese who want to go back to China that they “have no moral bottom line.”
#1. According to China’s media, there are about 150,000 Chinese in Russia, with 27,000 students and others who are merchants and workers. However, the Chinese government has made it hard for them to return to China. First, the government cut its flights. Since March 26, each airline in China is only allowed to make one flight to a foreign country each week; foreign airlines are only allowed to make one flight to China each week. Second, China closed all checkpoints between China and Russia, including Suifenhe, the largest port city near Russia.
On the other hand, Russian authorities have treated Chinese toughly. Sputnik reported that on April 10, Sergey Sobyanin, the Mayor of Moscow, announced that Moscow had deported several dozen Chinese for violating quarantine regulations. The Chinese media, 8 Am Health Insight reported on April 14, that a Chinese businesswoman who managed to return to China said that Russian authorities locked down the Friendship Hotel in Moscow where many Chinese were staying, took away their passports and quarantined them for 14 days.
China’s official media did not report on Russia’s actions, nor did Chinese officials defend its citizens. Nigeria acted differently. When the Chinese officials took away Nigerian citizens’ passports and tried to quarantine them, the Nigerian Consul-General in Guangzhou City fought to get back the passports and told the Chinese official that China had no right to seize them. (See Chinascope post: Diplomacy: Nigeria and African Union Protested China for Targeting Nigerian Citizens)
On April 17, Zhang Hanhui, China’s ambassador to Russia had an online discussion with several representatives of the Chinese in Russia. Zhang issued a criticism that some Chinese people tried to cross the border to go to China so as “to bring the virus into China.” Zhang said, “In order to escape responsibility, they claimed that ‘Russia will not let us stay.’ Their action is disgusting! (They are) eating the meal of Sino-Russian cooperation but smashing the pot of Sino-Russian relations. They have no moral bottom line.”
On April 13, the Heilongjiang government issued a notice to encourage people to report anyone who crossed the Sino-Russian border and offered a 3,000 yuan (US $430) reward for tips and 5,000 yuan for the arrest of anyone crossing the border. (See Chinascope post: Infection Count: Heilongjiang Awards 3,000 Yuan for Reporting People Crossing Border) (Epoch Times)
#2: Many Chinese in Russia indeed got infected. On April 20, China found 30 infected patients and 8 asymptomatic carriers on a flight from Moscow to Beijing. The flight landed in Xi’an first since China requires all international flights to Beijing to stop at another Chinese city first to be checked. (Beijing News)
#3: Heilongjiang Province decided to provide free room and board and a free coronavirus test to a Russian smuggler, who was arrested in Sunfenhe. However, the CCP requires all Chinese citizens returning to China from Russia to pay for their own expenses during the mandatory quarantine and does not offer them a free virus test. (Epoch Times)
Related postings on Chinascope:
- Diplomacy: More Details about Africans Being Targeted in Guangzhou
- Diplomacy: Nigeria and African Union Protested China for Targeting Nigerian Citizens
- Infection Count: Heilongjiang Awards 3,000 Yuan for Reporting People Crossing Border
- Infection Count: Heilongjiang Is Preparing for Epidemic Outbreak
1. Excerpt in Chinese:
据陆媒报导，目前居住在俄罗斯的华人大约有15万人左右，只有2.7万中国留学生，其他的大多数是商人和工人。
但现在华人又很难回国，一是航班已受到严格控制，二是中俄最大陆边境口岸——绥芬河口岸在8日已经关闭。
中共近期收紧了国际航线。从3月26日开始，大陆国内各航空公司经营至任一国家航线只能保留1条，每周运营班次不超1班；外国每家航空公司经营至中国的航线只保留1条，每周运营班次不得超1班。
俄罗斯卫星通讯社4月10日报导称，莫斯科市长索比亚宁（Sergey Sobyanin）表示，数十名中国公民因违反隔离规定而被驱逐出境。
而据陆媒“八点健闻”4月14日报导，4月10日好不容易返回国的华商说，她离开俄罗斯前所住的友谊宾馆刚刚确诊了两个病例，“目前宾馆封锁了，所有人的护照被收走了，就地隔离14天，住在里面的华商想离开都不行。”
而俄罗斯驱逐中国公民的事件，中共官媒却不报道。
4月17日，中共驻俄罗斯大使张汉晖与在俄华人代表在线交流时，痛批有国人在绥芬河口岸封关后，仍然“闯关”回国导致病毒输入：“他们为了逃脱责任，声称是‘俄罗斯不让我们待了’。这种做法令人不齿！吃着中俄合作的饭，砸了中俄关系的锅，没有道德底线。”
4月13日，中共黑龙江省政府也发通知，鼓励民众举报“非法”入黑龙江省的人员，并称对越境线索一经查实，将给举报人奖励3,000元（人民币）；如边民自行抓获并交由有关部门处置的，一次性奖励5,000元。
Source: Epoch Times, April 18, 2020
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/20/4/18/n12042123.htm
2. Excerpt in Chinese:
新增7例境外输入新冠肺炎确诊病例、1例无症状感染者，与4月21日、22日公布的23例境外输入确诊病例属同一航班人员，于4月19日乘坐CA910航班由莫斯科飞往北京，4月20日到达第一入境点西安咸阳国际机场入境。航班落地后，全部人员落实海关检疫、核酸检测、点对点转运和隔离诊疗、隔离医学观察等闭环管理措施，无陕西省内自行活动轨迹。截止目前，该航班已累计报告境外输入确诊病例30例、无症状感染者8例（其中1例转为确诊病例）。
Source: Beijing News, April 25, 2020
http://www.bjnews.com.cn/feature/2020/04/25/720974.html
3. Excerpt in Chinese:
大纪元获得的“黑龙江省政府绥芬河市外事处”4月21日的红头文件显示，该外事处就解决一名俄罗斯籍人员食宿等问题向“绥芬河市疫情防控指挥部”请示：俄籍人员阿尔曼，因涉嫌走私被绥芬河海关缉私局调查，于2019年10月8日被取保候审。今年4月8日解除取保候审。目前暂住中国熟人家中（该人目前因工作原因处于隔离状态）。由于阿尔曼无法回俄国，请求“绥芬河市疫情防控指挥部”解决其食宿问题。
文件内容显示：“黑龙江省政府绥芬河市办事处”已经请示黑龙江省外办，黑龙江省外办答复由当地做好安抚，妥善解决。为此，特请求“绥芬河市疫情防控指挥部”协助解决该名俄罗斯人的食宿问题。另外，为确保安全，建议为其做一次免费核酸检测。
据“绥芬河市疫情防控指挥部办公室公文处理审批单”4月22日对“黑龙江省政府绥芬河市外事处”的请示审批文件显示，绥芬河市市长批示“同意”；分管的副市长对这名俄罗斯嫌犯的核酸检测和食宿问题作出具体批示。
然而中共对“境外人员入境”的中国人则不提供免费核酸测试及隔离期间食宿免费的待遇。
Source: Epoch Times, May 1, 2020
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/20/5/1/n12074373.htm