On March 18, Aliriza Arican, the foreign academic director of our AP center, was interviewed by Turkish news channel. As an honorary citizen of Changzhou, Mr. Arican has been working and living in Changzhou for seven years. Through careful observation, recording and thinking, he has published stories of daily life into articles to promote Changzhou to foreigners. As a teacher and writer, he loves Changzhou. Since 2015, Mr. Arican has written more than 10 articles about Chinese culture and history, some of which have been published in various Turkish journals.
The following is an English translation of Mr. Arican's interview:
The news channel contacted different Turkish people from all around the world and asked them about the situation in their countries. Before me, they talked with a person in Canada. After me, the guest was someone from Hungary. They have asked the same questions to everyone.
1. We have heard that China is recovering now. How is the situation there?
Yes, things are getting a lot better these days. Life is back to normal, maybe about 80%. Schools are still closed but shopping centers, supermarkets, many government institutions, metro, and BRT are all functioning properly now. Restaurants started to accept customers and people with green health codes can move in the city freely. I can go to the supermarket for shopping and take long walks when I want to. However, China is a very big country, in terms of both population and area. In Jiangsu, the province I am living in, the number of confirmed cases is less than 1000 and nobody lost life. This is probably why we are in a better condition. In Wuhan, the very center of the pandemic, the recovery is slower but at the same time more visible. Many doctors and nurses are now returning their homes because they are no more needed. The hospitals which were built to contain the spread of the virus are shutting down and life is slowly returning to its normal phase.
2. How did the government respond to the outbreak? China is now mentioned as a model country now in the fight against Coronavirus, what can you say about this? How did China achieve this?
China has a big power, the power of being able to organize people very rapidly. The Communist Party of China has more than 80 million members all over the country. Young, old, man, woman, working in all possible professions. The Party can easily mobilize these members when their help is needed. In a situation like this, speed is everything and hesitation is the biggest enemy. With the power of People’s Party, tough decisions can be taken quickly and implemented without exceptions. The positive outcome appears sooner or later if the decision-makers stand firm and put pressure on those who are responsible for implementing the tough measures. In summary, with the combination of the government’s hard work and people’s faith in solidarity, we can say that China did a great job.
3. How is daily life now? What are the remaining measures?
Like in many other countries, China still continues fighting against the spread of the virus. Right now, it seems the real danger is coming from the people who are returning China after their winter break. The number of confirmed cases originating in China is quite low now but if China gives up on the strict measures, the returning people will cause another outbreak. This is why almost every passenger arriving China these days are being sent to designated hotels or hospitals for 14-days quarantine.
You can watch my part of the video on this link. It is about 7 minutes long. We speak Turkish only:
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