Holding blank sheets of paper in Beijing, or chanting slogans like “We don’t want tests, we want freedom” and calling for Xi Jinping’s resignation in Shanghai, Chinese people from north to south of the country took to the streets to protest the restrictions that stays..
Although the communist regime announced a list of 20 measures on the 11th to narrow the scope of its “covid zero” policy, local authorities ultimately acted in the opposite direction when faced with the surge in coronavirus infections. Last week’s fire that killed ten people in Urumqi, Xinjiang province, was the last straw for a population suffering from repressive measures in an already repressive regime, sparking the biggest protests since 1989 in recent days Whatever the reaction of the structure led by Xi Jinping, there seems to be no positive solution.
The reaction of the power was through announcements of the lifting of some stricter measures, but at the same time they threatened those who planned to demonstrate. A committee of the Communist Party (political and legal affairs, which oversees law enforcement) concluded that it is time “to “protect global social stability” to crack down on illegal criminal acts that disrupt social order”.
Police were present in the streets on Monday and Tuesday and appear to have avoided further gatherings, at a time when temperatures dropped to -9ºC. In addition, security forces have contacted people they suspect may have participated in the protests, seeking information about their movements.
On the other hand, the authorities responded with some flexibility measures that may indicate a way out of the zero covid policy. In Beijing, padlocking the gates of residential areas was banned, a measure that locked people in if infections were recorded among residents. In Urumqi, the municipality announced a subsidy (equivalent to 40 euros) for every low-income resident and a five-month rental moratorium for some families.
On another front, China’s National Health Commission announced a renewed ambition to increase vaccination rates among the elderly and stated that local governments should identify people to vaccinate. Only two-thirds of people over the age of 80 are vaccinated, and the effectiveness of Chinese vaccines lags behind the technology used in mRNA immunizations. Authorities fear the end of restrictions could spell a health crisis the country has not yet had. If we are to believe official statistics, only a small part of the population has lived with the virus (281,000 people out of a population of 1.4 billion).
However, it is not expected that Beijing will comply with the protesters’ wishes. “The likelihood that the leadership will end covid zero in response to the protests is slim, either because of the precedent it would set or because halting efforts to contain the virus now would quickly lead to overload of the health care system,” said Mark Williams, Asia chief economist at the Capital Economics consultancy. “The government has no good options at the moment. Whatever it does, it is unlikely that significant restrictions will be imposed in large parts of the country, which will have a huge impact on the weakening of the economy.”
IMF director Kristalina Georgieva said China’s growth is likely to be revised downwards.
The youth unemployment rate, 19.9%, reached a record high in China, due to the lockdowns in place in cities that account for about 25% of the country’s GDP.
The zero covid policy was embraced early on by Chinese authorities, in contrast to most countries’ approach of “flattening” the spread of the virus. In addition to the harsh measures of repression, surveillance and censorship, the economic burden of incarceration is mounting, jeopardizing global supply chains and China’s role as a reliable and stable partner.
End of “golden age,” says Sunak
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the end of the “golden era” between London and Beijing, reflected in the end of collaborative projects or the presence of Chinese companies in critical sectors in the UK, reviewing his position defended during the Conservative Party leadership campaign. Now he says China is “a systemic challenge to” British values and interests. “Let’s be clear, the so-called ‘golden age’ is over, along with the naive idea that trade would lead to social and political reform.”
However, Sunak opposed “simplified Cold War rhetoric”, saying London “cannot ignore China’s importance in international politics, from global stability to climate change”. In recent days, under the investment and national security law, the British have denied the acquisition by a Chinese company of a semiconductor manufacturer, Newport Wafer; excluded the Chinese CGN from the construction of the Sizewell C nuclear power plant, which will now be carried out with the French EDF; and ordered that “sensitive locations” no longer have Chinese-made surveillance cameras; to which the exclusion of Huawei’s 5G network has been added.
In another diplomatic signal, China’s ambassador to London was summoned by the British MFA after the BBC journalist was attacked and detained in Shanghai during a demonstration, an incident that Secretary of State James Cleverly called “deeply disturbing”.
Source: DN
