268 Nigerians arrive Abuja from China

We confirmed that at least 268 Nigerians who were evacuated from China have arrived Abuja.

The flight that conveyed the evacuees landed at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport this afternoon.

Disclosing this in a tweet, the Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said that the returnees would be proceeding on compulsory 14 days quarantine as stipulated by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

Some of the nationals had faced serial racial discriminations in Guangzhou, China, from provincial officials.

They were reportedly evicted from their apartments and hotels following their alleged refusal to go for the mandatory quarantine imposed by the Guangdong Provincial authorities sequel to the outbreak of coronavirus in Guangzhou.

Some Nigerians sent a video of a woman with two children who were staying on the streets.

In the footage, the unidentified woman was feeding her infant daughter as the older second child slept in a baby walker; She was allegedly evicted from her apartment.

But the Chinese authorities said they subsequently provided free hotel accommodations for 207 Nigerians.

The government said the beneficiaries included Nigerians who were evicted from their hotels and apartments by officials in the wake of the compulsory quarantine and testing of foreigners for coronavirus by the Guangzhou Municipal Authorities.

The Federal Government has said that it would give priority to evacuees in China when evacuation flights eventually resume.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, disclosed this during a briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja.

He said that the government was aware of the harsh climate against nationals in China, noting that they would be repatriated as soon as new modalities were put in place. He said, 

“We are very hopeful that maybe by next week, we should be able to commence evacuation. There is a large number of Nigerians still wanting to be evacuated. In addition to the UK, there are Nigerians in China, this is something we are not happy about.

It is a real priority for us to bring all the evacuees back home but we know those in China are facing very essential challenges and as soon this mechanism is put in place, I’d like to assure them that we’ll do everything possible to prioritise their return.

In regards to compensation to Nigerians who were caught up in the crisis in Guangzhou, China due to the discrimination on the basis of nationality and race, I spoke to the Consular General in Guangzhou who was in direct contact with the Nigerians there to provide details of any loss they may have suffered. We will now engage on that basis, with the Chinese Government.

When I summoned the Chinese Ambassador, Mr Zhou Pingjian, he also made these commitments, that they will be very interested to receive the details of any complaints or loss, and I must say to date that nothing has come in formally from our Consulate in Guangzhou.”

China to loosen flight restrictions

After fierce criticism from citizens stranded abroad, China will loosen a cap on flights into the country that was imposed to block coronavirus infections from abroad.

"The country drastically cut international flight routes in March and slapped an entry ban on most foreigners over fears about importing a second wave of infections.

Authorities currently allow domestic and foreign airlines to maintain only one weekly route either to or from China.

But from June, the number of permitted flights will nearly triple to 407 per week", Civil Aviation Administration of China Li Jian said in an interview with state media.

That is still just a fraction of the roughly 9,000 flights a week handled by the country’s airports before the pandemic.

The move comes after thousands of frustrated social media users vented their anger on the CAAC’s official Weibo page, often with expletive-laden comments about the high price of tickets on the limited number of flights.

Some said they had been asked by airlines to pay as much as 30,000 yuan ($4,200) for the few seats available.

“Do you think we’re all money-printing machines?” one user wrote.

Many of the Chinese nationals waiting to return home are among China’s population of 1.6 million students studying abroad.

Beijing arranged emergency flights to repatriate its citizens stranded abroad as the virus spread around the world, but demand has far outstripped supply.

Dozens of people were arrested in Nepal earlier this month after a protest in Kathmandu by stranded Chinese nationals turned violent.

The demonstrators held placards with messages such as “I want to go home!” and threw stones at police, local authorities said.

Friday will see the first mass trip by Europeans to the country in months.

Some 200 people will fly from Frankfurt to the eastern city of Tianjin on Friday, German Chamber of Commerce in North China executive director Jens Hildebrandt told AFP.

A second flight from Frankfurt to Shanghai is scheduled for June 3.

All international arrivals in China are currently required to undergo a COVID-19 test and complete a mandatory quarantine.