The 5th Session of the 13th Hubei Provincial People’s Congress was convened on January 24, 2021, with the attendance of foreign guests from the United States, Japan, Holland and France.
Here are some of interviews from the foreign guests who spoke highly of Hubei’s rigorous COVID-19 prevention and containment measures.
1.Steve Carpenter, Chairman of Central China Executive Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in China
“Hubei has done a good job in epidemic prevention and control as well as people’s care," said Steve Carpenter, Chairman of Central China Executive Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.
"The province has rolled out a raft of stringent measures including wearing masks and keeping social distancing to stem the virus from spreading," he added.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, Steve paid close attention to Hubei's anti-epidemic information through online platforms and friends in Wuhan.
"The medical workers from all over China were rallied to the immediate aid of Hubei and the city of Wuhan in early days of the outbreak," he noted, adding that the spirit of helping others without thinking about their own lives left him a deep impression.
"It is commendable that the Chinese government and the Chinese people have worked together to fight against the epidemic. China has the best pandemic response around the world," Steve said.
2.Saeki Takehiko, Chief of the Japan External Trade Organization's Wuhan office
"Only China can demonstrate such unparalleled speed and efficiency in responding to the outbreak," said Saeki Takehiko, chief of the Japan External Trade Organization's Wuhan office.
He added that all the employees of the Wuhan office worked at home amid the COVID-19 outbreak, and community staff provided them with daily necessities.
"China has mobilized national medical workers and made great efforts to fight against the epidemic," said Saeki Takehiko,"Wuhan is a heroic city, and its people are heroic people who have never been crushed by any difficulty or challenge in history."
"Wuhan is now one of the safest cities in the world. Wuhan has come back alive with full power, and Japanese companies here enjoy a favorable development environment," he said, expressing his willingness to introduce Hubei to more Japanese companies for further friendly exchanges between Hubei and Japan.
3.Sara Platto, Associate professor at Jianghan University's School of Life Sciences
"This is a fact that Hubei embraces an optimized response system towards the COVID-19 pandemic," said Sara Platto via video link, an Italian associate professor at Jianghan University's School of Life Sciences.
Sara and her son Matteo stayed in Wuhan amid the COVID-19 outbreak."My neighbors who hadn't dealt with before cared about me, taught me to buy food online. I never felt lonely in Wuhan," She said.
Sarah recorded her experience in Wuhan from the perspective of his son as an anti-epidemic diary which has been published in Italy. And the book will be published in Chinese this year.
“There are some reports smearing or lying about China, which is not conducive to young people’s correct understanding of China,”she said, adding that she wrote this book in an effort to tell them a real Wuhan from the perspective of foreigners living here.
"The spread of pandemic was contained about three months after the city’s lockdown, thanks to the effective prevention and control measures of the government as well as the joint efforts of the people. This is not only my personal opinion, but also the consensus among my friends," Sara remarked.