'No Chinese': In petitions, signs and tweets, fear is spreading faster than the coronavirus
SEOUL, South Korea - When some 5,000 Chinese travelers arrived in South Korea earlier in January for a company retreat, local officials rolled out a red carpet, handed them bouquets and renamed a city street after the health food firm they worked for.
In recent days, however, Chinese tourists have received a different kind of greeting, as fears rise over the global spread of the deadly coronavirus that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
More than 600,000 South Koreans have signed an online petition asking that Chinese nationals be banned from entering their country. In Malaysia, more than 400,000 have signed a similar petition. Mongolia and North Korea, meanwhile, have each sealed their borders to Chinese travelers, and the Philippines has stopped issuing
