7 News Belize

Chinese Stage Sunday Shutdown In Silent Protest
posted (September 29, 2017)
A shockwave went through the Chinese Community on Monday night when 58 year-old Bainan Wu, was killed inside his store on Vernon Street in Belize City. It was the first Chinese shopkeeper to be killed in Belize City in more than 4 years, but with a recent spike on armed assaults on Chinese Grocers, sadly, it was only a matter of time.

And so, on Sunday the Chinese community has planned a nationwide shutdown of all Chinese businesses. Today, President of the Belize Chinese Association Edmund Quan says it's not a protest as much as an act of mourning:

Edmund Quan - Chairman, Belize Chinese Association
"On Sunday we are calling the general Chinese businesses and Chinese public to do a shutdown in mourning and to show solidarity for the deceased because the funeral will be on Sunday. It's not necessarily a protest basically we've had shutdowns before and good people suffer for the bad and we know that. Many families live day to day, trying to get by every sing day. We are trying to avoid that so that's why we are doing this on a Sunday. Sunday most people eat at home, the general population. You see the main thing is, we the Chinese people, we don't want to affect good patrons. We appreciate all our patrons and we don't like what happened of course but we are trying to minimize the damages. The main thing for the shutdown is basically for the funeral, in a sense of mourning."

Jules Vasquez - Reporter
"Ok, so Chinese business won't be opened all day? Usually, in the past, they open after six. Will they open at night?"

Edmund Quan - Chairman, Belize Chinese Association
"We are calling for all day. Some of them not necessarily come to the funeral but it's out of respect; yeah, solidarity."

Jules Vasquez - Reporter
"Boledo on Sunday is a very big thing to buy at the Chinese store. What would you advise people to do who usually buy their boledo Sunday Morning?"

Edmund Quan - Chairman, Belize Chinese Association
"The best advice is to buy it Saturday because boledo will be played. The government plays the boledo but the Chinese won't be there to sell it."

According to our records, the last Chinese business shutdown was in April of 2011, when two female Chinese shopkeepers were killed in the city in one weekend. That was accompanied by a defiant protest through the city streets.

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