The mayor of Florence, Italy, initiated “hug a Chinese” on Twitter on Feb 1, opposing anger toward Chinese amid the coronavirus outbreak, and calling for “Unity in this common battle!” Many Italian citizens responded by posting photos of themselves with Chinese.

@DarioNardella

Also according to a local report in Florence, a Chinese-Italian boy stood blindfolded in a Florence piazza, with a sign asking people to “hug him as a human being”, as part of a social experiment in order to combat stereotypes and xenophobia.

“I’m Chinese, I’m Italian, but hug me as a human being,” read the sign, while Massimiliano Jiang stood blindfolded, waiting to find out the reaction of passers-by.