“Lift the blockade,” protesters shouted in a city in China’s far west. On the other side of the country, in Shanghai, protesters held up white sheets of paper, turning them into a tacit but powerful sign of defiance. One protester, who was later detained by the police, was only bring flowers.
Over the weekend, protests against China’s strict Covid-19 restrictions broke out across the country in a rare case of nationwide civil unrest. had signs of dissentbut a new wave of anger could pose a bigger challenge to the government.
Some protesters have gone as far as calling for the Communist Party and its leader, Xi Jinping, to step down. Many are fed up with Mr. Xi, who in October won a third term defying precedent as the party’s general secretary, and Policy “no Covid”continues to disrupt daily life, hurt livelihoods and isolate the country.
The Chinese government on Monday blamed “surveillance forces” for linking the deadly fire in the western Xinjiang region to strict Covid-19 measures, a key driver of concern. Protests spread across the country.
China’s 1.4 billion residents are still subject to strict policies. It is designed to quell the infection by relying on the rapid lockdown of apartment buildings and sometimes entire cities or regions, as well as forcing prolonged isolation and a series of tests. for residents.
Outside of China, the rest of the world has adapted to the virus and is almost normal. Join football’s premier event, event World Cup. Thousands of people from around the world have gathered in Qatar and are cheering for their teams, shoulder to shoulder, without masks, in packed stadiums.
China’s approach won a lot of praise in the early part of the pandemic, and it certainly saved many lives. But now that approach seems increasingly outdated. Nearly three years after the coronavirus emerged, the contrast between China and the rest of the world couldn’t be more stark.
Here’s what you need to know about the situation in China.
A deadly fire in China’s far west has drawn protesters.
The news spread quickly on the Chinese internet. Ten people died on Thursday following a fire at an apartment building in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, an area of 25 million people that has been under lockdown for more than three months. (This area has previously become the focus of China mass intern its Muslim population.)
Many Chinese suspect that Covid restrictions – which could include temporary barricades and blocked exits to keep people indoors – have hampered rescue operations or prevented people from seeking shelter. hide from the fire. Many Urumqi residents took to the streets chanting “end of blockade”.
In Shanghai, China’s largest city, residents gather at the intersection of Urumqi Road, named after the city in Xinjiang, to commemorate the dead. “We want freedom,” they chanted, and some continued to call for Mr. Xi to step down.
“Those victims, how they died, we all know. Right?” protesters with flowers said, according to a video posted on social media, clearly alluding to the tragedy in Urumqi. The video shows that, shortly after, the man nicknamed “Shanghai Flower Boy” on social media was taken away by the police. The Times verified the video’s location as Urumqi Street in Shanghai.
Among those who were taken away were a BBC reporterwho was later released.
Protesters also gathered in the country’s capital, with many students gathering at Tsinghua University in northwest Beijing to denounce restrictions on their mobility. Hundreds of protesters also marched Wuhanthe central Chinese city where the pandemic began in late 2019. Crowds have also gathered in Chengdu, the southwestern city of the country.
On Monday, a government official addressed claims that there was a link between the Urumqi fire and virus restrictions. “There are forces on social media with ulterior motives to link this fire to the local response to Covid-19,” Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in response to a question at the forum. a regular press conference.
The Chinese economy has been hurt by the restrictions.
The disruption to daily life has plagued businesses large and small, from the company that makes the iPhone to neighborhood shops and restaurants.
One lock at one Foxconn facility in Zhengzhou, central China, shows how this policy can have global implications. After workers were laid off to limit the Covid outbreak, production decreased. That forced Apple to warn that its sales would fall lack of expectations.
To avoid similar problems, other multinationals have sought to expand production outside of China.
On the main streets of towns and cities in China, lockdowns have reduced pedestrian traffic, hurting businesses vital to urban employment.
According to the latest data, China’s economy grew by 3.9% in the three months ending in September. But that is much slower than the government 5.5 percent target for 2022 and some economists predict that it will fall even more in the final months of the year.
For investors worried about China’s economy, it’s a Guessing game when, if ever, the restrictions will be reinstated. Many expected an announcement at the Communist Party Congress in October. But instead, Mr. Xi doubled. The immediate market reaction on Monday was muted, with stocks in Asia falling about 1%.
Officials have been trying to adjust the ‘no Covid’ policy.
In early November, the government said it would loosen some regulations, even if it stays committed to the policy. The change is modest, but it is a sign that authorities are aware of the consequences that continued disruption has on the economy.
Quarantine restrictions have been eased for foreign tourists, as has a fine system for airlines carrying travelers with Covid. Domestically, authorities have reduced, albeit somewhat limited, contact tracing and eliminated a number of other measures.
Financial markets initially saw it as a positive sign foreshadowing the policy pullback. But it didn’t happen.
With looser restrictions, more Covid cases escalate into epidemics. The number of daily reported cases is at the peak of the pandemic. Most Chinese have never been exposed to the virus, and the vaccination campaign has largely stalled. officials quickly step back. According to estimates from Japanese brokerage Nomura, by mid-November, one-third of China’s population and the regions that generate two-fifths of the country’s economic output had been partially or completely blocked. the set.
Chris Buckley and Section of the heron contribution report.
