Jeju Island is a paradise corner off the coast of Korea with its white sandy beach and beautiful scenery. But Iris Yao did not find relaxation.

Yao, a 22-year-old student, visited Jeju Island while on his way from his home in Zhoushan City, Zhejiang, China, back to his university in Sydney, Australia. But then she got stuck here.

She was one of tens of thousands of Chinese tourists who were disrupted by the rapidly changing regulations in the area due to the outbreak of pneumonia. Instead of welcoming wealthy Chinese tourists like before, islanders now fear meeting and alienating people like Yao.

Some restaurants on the island prohibit Chinese. The restaurant staff even asked her not to speak Chinese when she ate here, for fear that would scare other customers. "The fear of viruses is everywhere. I think it's unfair for Chinese people to be banned from going to restaurants or speaking in their own language," Yao said.

Yao's short holiday before the start of his new term in Australia on Jeju Island is now a nightmare when like many countries, the Canberra government prohibits visitors from China. Now Yao can only wait. Under current regulations, she cannot go to Australia after leaving China for at least 14 days. Loneliness in a foreign country and feeling like an abandoned person made Yao feel hopeless and angry.

"I just want to be in a safe place," she said.

The fear of nCoV makes discrimination appear all over the world. In Japan, hagtag # Chinese people don't come to Japan are flooded on Twitter recently. In Singapore, thousands of residents signed government petitions banning Chinese.

Even in China, everyone is away from anyone who speaks Hubei accent, where the outbreak of nCoV pneumonia (Covid-19), on public transport or prohibits them from entering restaurants and places. other public.

Yao came to Jeju Island last month after the Chinese New Year holiday in Zhoushan. Her hometown of Zhejiang is one of the provinces most heavily affected by the pneumonia epidemic, with more than 1,100 cases. The day after arriving in Jeju, the Australian government restricted entry with visitors from mainland China and the ban will be extended for a week from February 15.

This provision causes problems for thousands of Chinese international students, making up the majority of the international student population at the University of Australia. On online chat groups, students are debating the benefits of being in a third country, including Thailand and Dubai, for 14 days trying to start a new term.

Yao feels lucky that his friends are still stuck in Hubei or elsewhere in China. To overcome this, some universities announce the opening of an online course and allow students to owe this term. However, Yao and thousands of other students signed a petition calling for an extension of the start of the semester.

Jeju Island on February 2 also suspended the visa-free program for Chinese nationals indefinitely, which left Yao, who arrived before the restriction took effect, in an uncertain situation. Meanwhile, on 12 February, South Korea recorded a total of 28 cases of Covid-19.

After arriving in Jeju, Yao rarely goes out, instead choosing to stay at home playing video games with friends or taking a driving test. Once she posted on social media about the stereotypes she suffered here, saying that she supported the self-isolation method, but disagreed with the hasty, easy-to-hurt entry bans. . She received feedback from several Chinese, including some who said she was emotional and ignorant.

After she had 14 days to leave China, she was confident she could return to Australia. She booked a flight to Sydney and transited in Malaysia. But then Malaysia also began banning passengers from Zhejiang province. Yao now worries about having problems even though transit in Malaysia and the plan may fail.

"This is really annoying but it is my only chance now," Yao said.