Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Workers urged not to travel during Spring Festival to stop virus spread
Chunyun, or the Spring Festival travel season, is a period of travel in China around the time of the Chinese New Year. The travel season begins two weeks before New Year's Day and lasts for around 40 days. Around three billion passenger trips are made during the season each year. Indeed, for migrant workers, it is the time to enjoy family reunions and local food. This year, the travel rush is about to start, from 28th January till 8th March. According to the national rail operator, over 400 million passer trips are expected during the period.
But this year, in order to prevent the novel virus from spreading further, authorities are encouraging companies to keep operating during the period by giving financial and recreational incentives to their workers. Some companies offer special bonuses, upgraded meals, and local tours trying to encourage their migrant employees to stay in town. People are also advised to stay home and order things online. In fact, with video meeting app and mobile payment services, family engagement can be enjoyed online somehow though it isn’t the same face-to-face. Indeed, it seems like a deep emotional challenge for Chinese migrant workers and students who live away from their hometowns. Many Europeans and Americans seem to have lost the challenge during the last holiday season and have been witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases this month. By the way, if you lived in a rural village, would you want your child to come home from a large city during the pandemic? What do your neighbors think?
Read the article and think about how people will react to the advice and incentives.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202101/11/WS5ffba9a3a31024ad0baa1a7a.html
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