Beijing launches steps to help overseas Chinese

Beijing has rolled out a series of measures for overseas Chinese in the fight against COVID-19, Qi Jinli, deputy director of the United Front Work Department of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, said at a news conference on Sunday.

The capital city has opened four free psychological counseling hotlines with 60 phone counseling seats for overseas Chinese to help relieve emotional stress caused by the pandemic.

Local government was working with professionals from Peking University, Tsinghua University, Beijing Normal University and Capital Normal University, and invited 600 psychological experts to participate in the activities.

Many of the counseling experts have the experience of epidemic prevention and control work in China.

In cooperation with several online health platforms, including Ali and Baidu Health, Beijing has organized a group of experienced medical experts to provide free health consultation service for overseas Chinese.

As confirmed COVID-19 cases increase all around the world, overseas Chinese have faced the challenges of getting enough medical supplies.

Beijing government encouraged enterprises in the city to make donations to help overseas Chinese fight against the epidemic, with 1 million masks and 700,000 already being sent to 35 countries.

In addition, the government has purchased 200,000 packs of traditional Chinese medicine for prevention and 30,000 packs have been dispatched to overseas Chinese in seven countries, including the US, the UK and France.