Aussie state launches campaign to support Chinese communities during COVID-19 outbreak

SYDNEY - As China is fighting the outbreak of COVID-19, the Victorian state government of Australia launched a new campaign on Thursday to show their support for the Chinese communities at home and abroad.

Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews said the campaign, named Stronger Together, aims to combat some of the challenges posed by the deadly virus which has claimed the lives of over 2,100 people so far and infected around 76,000 people across the world.

"We have a long history of standing by our Chinese communities and that's what we need to be doing right now," he said.

"We are with you during this challenging time -- today, and every day, we are stronger together."

As part of the campaign, a number of Victoria landmarks, including the Arts Center, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Museum, Melbourne Town Hall and Flinders Street Station, will be lit up in red and gold on Friday as a symbol of solidarity with Chinese Victorians.

In the coming weeks, the state government plans to send a delegation of over 100 businesses to China to further strengthen trade relations.

Following this, a number of economic roundtables will bring Chinese community leaders together to share ideas on how to rejuvenate the hospitality, tourism and education sectors which have already been heavily impacted by the virus.

"Our partnership with China has helped make our state stronger and more successful," Victoria's Minister for Jobs, Innovation and Trade Martin Pakula said.

"While our trade, tourism and education engagement is crucial, what matters more are the people-to-people relationships, and at this difficult time, it's the people of China we are thinking of," Pakula said.

The Victorian government will also use their digital platforms to highlight the profound contributions Chinese communities have made.

Other states and cities across Australia have also shown their support for China.

In Sydney, Lord Mayor Clover Moore sent a letter to the mayor of Chinese city Wuhan, which is the epicenter of the epidemic, expressing her support for the people of the embattled city.

In Western Australia, State Premier Mark McGowan recently said the state's economic and cultural relationship with China is "potentially the strongest in the western world," adding that both sides must maintain their strong ties now and into the future.

"I am sure that our relationship will endure what we are going through," McGowan said.