QUEENS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LAUNCHES WECHAT ACCOUNT TO SUPPORT CHINESE-LANGUAGE BUSINESSES IN WAKE OF COVID-19 OUTBREAK
QUEENS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LAUNCHES WECHAT ACCOUNT TO SUPPORT CHINESE-LANGUAGE BUSINESSES IN WAKE OF COVID-19 OUTBREAK
Account will serve as repository of information for businesses and employees, including grant and loan info
QUEENS, NY, April 22, 2020— The Queens Chamber of Commerceis pleased to announce the launch of its official account—under the user name “QueensLife”—on the Chinese multi-purpose app WeChat in order to support Chinese-language businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. With over 1 billion monthly active users across the globe, WeChat—known as “the app of everything,” allowing users to text, call, video chat, post news, send money, and order goods—is the most popular app for Chinese people, businesses, and e-commerce.
The Chamber’s account will serve as a repository of information for business and employees, including descriptions of grants and loan programs, F.A.Q. and application guidelines, paid sick leave info, business checklists, rules and regulatory announcements, and NYS/CDC/NYC health information.
The Queens Chamber had initially planned to use the WeChat account to promote Queens businesses and Chamber members to the Chinese speaking community in Queens, as well as those visiting from China—but pivoted to provide crisis support to the Chinese-language business community in Queens once the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The Queens Chamber expects to shift back to the account’s original purpose once the pandemic has ended.
“We are proud to be the most prominent U.S.-based Chamber to embrace WeChat,” said Thomas J. Grech, President and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce. “With its impressive scope of features, WeChat promises to be an incredible resource for connecting with the Chinese-language business community here in Queens, giving them the resources they need to navigate the challenges ahead. Once we are past this pandemic, we look forward to rolling out our WeChat account to support travel, trade and tourism between the Chinese-speaking world and Queens.”
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the Queens Chamber has adapted its programs and resources, hosting online networking sessions and town hall webinars for business owners, and launchingwww.QueensBest.org, an easy-to-navigate site that identifies the best restaurants in Queens for takeout and delivery.
To access the Queens Chamber WeChat account, sign into your personal WeChat account, and “Discover” it by scanning the QR code below:
The WeChat initiative was made possible thanks to support from Chatly, New York’s Empire State Development (ESD), Queens Economic Development Corporation(QEDC), Flushing Chinese Business Association (FCBA)and Flushing BID.
“Chinese American businesses play a critical role in Queens. They need help during this crisis, and this WeChat account will help ensure that Chinese American business owners have access to the critical resources that the Queens Chamber of Commerce provides. I thank and commend the Chamber for launching this important outreach effort, and for supporting the Chinese American business community in Queens” said U.S. Rep. Grace Meng.
“Businesses and their employees here in Queens have been devastated by COVID-19. We are still fighting this crisis and I hope additional federal stimulus funds will be made available to help small businesses. I am glad to see the Queens Chamber of Commerce opening up their WeChat account. Utilizing WeChat will help the Chamber connect with more of our struggling business owners, to help facilitate their economic recovery once we can return to some semblance of normalcy,” said State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky.
"The Queens Chamber's new WeChat account will make it easier than ever to communicate with our hard-working Chinese-American businessmen and women here in Queens. I applaud the Queens Chamber of Commerce as they continue to go above and beyond in helping our Chinese-American business community get the resources they need to thrive," said State SenatorJohn C. Liu.
"It has always been important that we have multilingual resources available for small businesses, but the harm from the COVID-19 pandemic has made multilingual resources especially necessary now. I am proud that I fought in Albany for funding to support small businesses in my community and throughout Queens, and I applaud the Queens Chamber of Commerce for providing these resources for business owners that speak Mandarin, Cantonese, and other Chinese languages," said Assembly Member Michael DenDekker.
"Chinese businesses in Queens have long maximized the potential of WeChat to promote and grow their business, and I am grateful that we have a real Chamber of Commerce right here in Queens that is taking advantage of this app's enormous potential to connect people from around the world to business in Queens," said Council Member Peter Koo.
"The Queens Chamber of Commerce has always been a tremendous supporter of the diverse business communities in every Queens neighborhood, including here in Flushing, where businesses have been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The Chamber's new WeChat account will be a tremendous resource to Chinese-owned businesses, linking them to resources and programs that will help our neighborhood recover,” said Peter Tu, Executive Director of the Flushing Business Association (FCBA).
"This will be very helpful to the Mandarin speaking community of Queens, and I am very happy that Sarah Liu, QEDC Director of Partnerships, has been able to assist and make it happen,” said Seth Bornstein, Executive Director of the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC).
“Over ninety percent of the businesses in downtown Flushing are operated by Chinese owners. We are happy to support and partner with the Queens Chamber of Commerce to establish WeChat as a primary platform to promote the new business and resource sharing to strengthen the local economy. Especially in this challenging time, information and resource sharing is crucial to surviving this pandemic,” said Dian Song Yu, Executive Director of the Downtown Flushing Transit Hub Business Improvement District.
About the Queens Chamber of Commerce:
The Queens Chamber of Commerce is the oldest and largest business association in Queens, representing more than 1,150 businesses and more than 100,000 Queens-based employees. Its mission is to foster connections, educate for success, develop/implement programs and advocate for members’ interests.www.queenschamber.org
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