Foreign media digest
Written by: Changyang
2020-02-17 21:49
Last updated: 2020-02-17 21:50Fear of a new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic is likely to spread. The Hong Kong supermarket in China, robbed by three men with a knife, said it was "shocked" and "this is a stupid act." Because of the supply of food and daily necessities, everything was fine, and the rumors were "worrying."
At 6 am on February 17th, three knives and masked gangsters raided a truck outside Wellcome Supermarket in Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong, stealing the toilet paper just dropped by the delivery staff. A Hong Kong police spokesman said the two had been arrested and some toilet paper had been recovered from a hotel in Mong Kok's downtown area; a third person was being hunted. A BBC quoted a police spokesman as saying: "The delivery man was threatened by three men with a knife. To steal toilet paper, the value was more than 1,000 Hong Kong dollars."
British media pointed out in the title that the best-selling toilet paper in Hong Kong highlights people's fear of the virus. The article's subtitle points out that while the outbreak has shaken regional economies, people are hoarding basic necessities. (Screenshot of News Network page)
A police spokesperson told CNN that the shipper unloaded 50 bales of goods outside the supermarket in the morning, about 600 bags (multi-roll) of toilet paper, but was robbed by three men. A few hours later, a stolen toilet paper was found in a hotel room near the incident.
Wellcome told the incident: "This is a stupid act, and it happened to us that we were shocked."
Wellcome told CNN that rumors of supply shortages were unfounded. CNN got in touch with two major supermarkets in Hong Kong, two freight companies and two container operators-all of them said that food and supplies are as good as they are good. Major supermarkets have introduced purchase restriction policies to prevent panic-related purchases.
CNN quoted Gilly Wong, chairman of the Consumer Council of Hong Kong, as saying to Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) that panic purchases have caused the price of toilet paper to rise, making specials a thing of the past.
The BBC headline highlights armed robbery. An article in the Financial Times entitled "Robbing of toilet paper highlights shopping under the panic virus panic virus" states that the case reflects fears of epidemics and a shortage of daily necessities, making thieves robbing objects into supermarket trucks.
Armed robbery is a felony. No wonder the supermarket and western media were shocked. (BBC News Network page screenshot)
CNN calls it the "toilet paper crisis." Earlier this month, Hong Kong announced that it would close some of its gateways to mainland China to fight the epidemic. There were unfounded rumors that China's supply chain would be interrupted, causing people to rush to the supermarket to buy a large amount of toilet paper, rice, disinfectant, and other liquid cleaning supplies. However, CNN quoted criticism from Hong Kong residents on social media that panic buyers created unnecessary confusion and annoyance.
CNN's headline is that three men stole 600 rolls of toilet paper in the face of fears that the outbreak would cause a shortage of supplies. (Screenshot of CNN News Network page)
The Financial Times and Bloomberg both noted that the panic buying was an economic effect of the epidemic.
American media have seen that the crisis and business opportunities are one step away. (Screenshot of Bloomberg News Network page)
An article published by Bloomberg on February 16 entitled "Toilet paper is a hot currency in Hong Kong, China and Singapore" states that out-of-stock items and hot purchases have given birth to business opportunities and business opportunities. Hong Kong's current daily necessities like toilet paper, paper towels, hand sanitizers, especially masks, have been sold out in major pharmacies and supermarkets.
On the streets of Hong Kong on February 14, 2020, the owner of the flower shop wore a protective mask to send customers "flowers". Among the masks in the "flower bouquet", the "flowers" have become the "green leaves" to complement. (AP)
Agence France-Presse's report published on the French Radio International website pointed out that under the influence of the epidemic, Hong Kong's supplies were in short supply, and despite the Hong Kong government's repeated guarantees of supply, Hong Kong people still snapped up and stocked toilet paper. Supermarkets can't fill the shelves as fast as people can buy them. People queue up to buy toilet paper.
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