A woman screaming abuse at the hazmat-suited workers: The case of China’s zero-Covid lockdown after the Xi Jinping election
A video that shows a woman screaming abuse at the hazmat-suited workers has gone up on social media and is believed to be a representation of the growing frustration with the government’s zero- Covid policy.
The woman has been under quarantine for half a year since returning from university in the summer, she shouts at the workers. They stare back, seemingly unmoved.
While most Asian economies are abandoning their strict restrictions, the authorities in China still insist that the battle against the virus is not over.
That claim comes even as infections flare and a new strain circulates just days before the country’s most important political event, the Communist Party Congress beginning in Beijing on Sunday at which Xi Jinping is expected to cement his place as the country’s most powerful leader in decades.
Observers across the world will be watching the twice-a-decade meeting for signs of the party’s priorities when it comes to its zero-Covid stance, which has been blamed for exacerbating mounting problems in the economy, from stalled growth to a collapsing housing market.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/13/china/china-zero-covid-lockdown-party-congress-intl-hnk/index.html
China’s zero-covid lockdown party congress is intl-hnk: the Weibo video of the Thursday protest in Shanghai
Nerves are high in China’s capital, where online photos posted Thursday appeared to show an exceptionally rare public protest against Xi. Yes to food, if you say no to the Covid test. No to lockdown, yes to freedom. No to lies, yes to dignity. Yes to reform, but not cultural revolution. Yes to vote, but no to a great leader. Don’t be a slave, be a citizen,” read one banner hung over an overpass despite the heightened security surrounding the Congress.
The site of the protest was immediately excluded from search results on Weibo. Key words such as Beijing,Haidian, warrior,brave man and even “courage” were not allowed to be searched.
Numerous accounts on Weibo and WeChat, the super-app essential for daily life in China, have been banned after commenting on – or alluding to – the protest.
Many people spoke about their support and awe. Some shared the Chinese pop hit “Lonely Warrior” in a veiled reference to the protester, who some called a “hero,” while others swore never to forget, posting under the hashtag: “I saw it.”
Yet even in the face of rising public discontent, all the signs suggest Xi and his party plan to stick with the zero-Covid approach, possibly into 2023, with the state media articles this week serving to dampen speculation the country may change tack post-Congress.
In Shanghai, where 25 million people have already endured two months of the world’s strictest lockdown, residents are now on edge at any signs of a repeat as authorities begin to tighten measures once again.
Chinese citizens like the woman in the Weibo video have grown exhausted by a seemingly endless cycle of lock-ups, and new outbreaks this week point to more misery to come.
The city reported 47 Covid-19 cases on Thursday, one day after authorities ordered six out of its 13 districts to shut entertainment venues such as internet cafes, cinemas and bars. Disney resort in China has stopped live performances and attractions since Sunday.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/13/china/china-zero-covid-lockdown-party-congress-intl-hnk/index.html
Beijing will not let Covid down: a city’s worst epidemic since Super-Kazakhstan ended on Oct. 24th
Spooked by the possibility of unpredictable and unannounced snap lockdowns – and mindful that authorities have previously backtracked after suggesting that no such measures were coming – some people in the city have reportedly been hoarding drinking water.
The announcement that the Shanghai water authorities have acted to ensure water quality after discovering saltwater in the mouths of the Yangtze River has made panic buying worse.
The rise in infections is not clear, although authorities are working to contain the outbreak after the strain was first found in China.
The country has also seen an uptick in cases in domestic tourist destinations, despite its strict curbs having discouraged people from traveling or spending over China’s Golden Week holiday in early October.
More than 240,000 university students were locked down on campuses because of the new outbreak, according to the regional Department of Education. And the outbreak on campus has led to punitive action, with one university Communist Party boss being sacked after 39 students from his institution tested positive.
In western China, 22 million people have been banned from leaving the region because they’re not allowed to stay. Xinjiang recorded 403 new cases on Thursday, according to an official tally.
Yet amid it all, Beijing appears unwilling to move from its hardline stance. For three days this week, the state-run Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily published commentaries reiterating that China would not let its guard down.
The battle against Covid was winnable, it said. Other countries that had reopened and loosened restrictions had done so because they had failed to control the epidemic in a timely manner.
Why vaccine urgency persists in China and what they are doing about it: Tan Hua’s story of “during the Beijing pandemic outbreak”
I am able to do my job without going to an office to work. I don’t have a job at a company or in a government agency and don’t really come into contact with a lot of people,” she says. I think I protect myself well.
China has not imported any foreign-made vaccines, which are widely seen inside the country to be more effective than China’s homegrown jabs. And data on the Chinese vaccines has been conflicting. Scientists reported in March that Sinovac boosters can help prevent serious illness in old people. The Singapore-based scientists have concluded that three or four doses of vaccine for people over the age of 60 gives them better protection than a vaccine from China.
The authorities seem to have been pushed to take more risks because of a weekend of angry street protests against the Beijing’s hardline pandemic control policy. The authorities announced new steps to roll back some of the policy’s strict elements.
Increasing vaccinations is one of the main ways the government can decrease the impact of the Viruses inevitably spreading.
The problem of under-vaccination is most acute among the elderly. Around 30% of people in their 60s and up were not protected against the H1N1 strain as of November 11, the government announced a week ago. The ratio was less than 60 among those 80 or older.
“If you look at the history of the People’s Republic of China, you will see that strong vaccination programs work very hard to convince people to get immunized against infectious diseases, just like other countries in the world.”
It has roots in quality issues that have hampered the production of pharmaceuticals in China for years. Cases like Tan Hua’s resonate.
Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/12/09/1140830315/why-vaccine-hesitancy-persists-in-china-and-what-theyre-doing-about-it
Why vaccine hesitancy persists in China and what they’re doing about it: a case study of a young girl in the hospital
In November of 2014, Tan was bitten by a dog. She saw a doctor and was given a shot of what her mother, Hua Xiuzhen, says they were told was the best rabies vaccine on the market. But it didn’t go well.
“That very night she got a headache and dizziness. Her memory faded very quickly. She had convulsions. Everything was dark for her and she couldn’t see. She couldn’t walk straight.
It wasn’t always like this, according to Mary Brazelton, an expert in the history of science and medicine in China at the University of Cambridge. The Chinese government launched several successful vaccinations after the Communist takeover in 1949.
There has been a string of product quality scandals in China because of weak oversight and corrupt government during the last two decades of economic growth.
Yanzhong Huang, a China health care expert at Seton Hall University, says the government has done a bad job of messaging around the virus and debunking myths — despite near total control of the media environment in the country.
Many of the vaccine skeptics are liberals. They just don’t trust the Chinese vaccines and the government narrative on the effectiveness of the Chinese vaccines,” he says.
Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/12/09/1140830315/why-vaccine-hesitancy-persists-in-china-and-what-theyre-doing-about-it
A 33-year-old Real Estate Executive in China: Why COVID-19 is pointless and why vaccines shouldn’t be a priority
Jerry is a real estate executive who is 33 years old. He did not want his name to be associated with the topic.
Jerry reckons COVID-19 is “kind of a flu thing” these days; nothing too serious. Despite the fact that there’s no point in getting the vaccine, he still believes it’s pointless.
I don’t think the virus stays the same. So not a single vaccine can help,” he says, focusing on vaccines’ ability to prevent transmission rather than stave off serious illness and death.
Jerry’s friends are educated, 30-somethings in China’s most cosmopolitan city which may make the vaccine rate low. Couple trying to get pregnant are scared of side effects.
Only about half of people aged 60 and up in Hong Kong were vaccinated when the omicron variant hit in the spring. The death rate increased to the highest in the world when hospitals were quickly swamped. Some of the people who died were over the age of 60.
The government should offer assurances of support in case something goes wrong if it wants to encourage people to get the vaccine, says a University of South Carolina professor.