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Long-distance call

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Why you can trust SCMP
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When London-born Sarah Yeh set up DimSum (www.dimsum.co.uk) as a voice for Chinese people in Britain in 2001, little did she realise it would prove to be so effective so soon.

The website's launch coincided with media reports that a Chinese restaurant was the source of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. 'Suddenly it all blew up and we found ourselves in the middle of it,' recalls Yeh.

'DimSum became the first portal for all sectors of the Chinese community here: the older generation, second generation, men and women - everybody.

'Rumours about the source of the outbreak were reported as facts in the British media. One of them was the suggestion the disease had originated in a Chinese restaurant's bin.

'It was ridiculous but it harmed a lot of businesses - some restaurant owners reported a 40 per cent drop in trade at the time. It was racial scapegoating.'

Yeh and other furious Chinese Britons demanded the government apologise for the damage.

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