After protests against the zeroCovid policy, China this Saturday (3) extended the easing of quarantine rules, which entities like the WHO classify as unsustainable. Tents for mass testing were dismantled in the capital Beijing. In southern Shenzhen, officials said they no longer have to submit a negative test result to travel.
The measures signal changes in the campaign to deal with the health crisis despite the surge in coronavirus cases in Chinese megacities like Shanghai and Guangzhou. This week, Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chunlan pledged a “more humane approach” to fighting the pandemic.
In Beijing, the dismantling of the buildings was celebrated by the population. A video showing staff dismantling tents used for mass testing has gone viral on Chinese social network Weibo. “That should have been dismantled earlier,” says one person on the recording. “Banished to history,” adds another. The accuracy of the images could not be independently verified.
On the other hand, with fewer test sites available, there have been complaints of long queues at the remaining structures. Residents of the capital now no longer have to prove they are free of the disease to enter supermarkets. In the second (5), the same rule should be applied in the subway. But also in other places, for example in offices, the submission of an examination with a negative result remains mandatory.
In Shenzhen, in addition to the fact that it is no longer mandatory to present a test for travel, the authorities have announced that exams will no longer be required to access public transport or parks. Other Chinese cities such as Chengdu (southwest) and Tianjin (northeast) have taken similar measures.
China, Midland
When there was a relaxation of quarantine rules, the same treatment was not applied in terms of tolerating protests. Police maintain a strong contingent in the Liangmaqiao area, east of Beijing, the scene of large demonstrations in recent days, and according to American newspaper The New York Times, agents are using facial recognition technology to identify protesters.
There was also ostensive policing in western China’s Urumqi, where a fire alone killed ten people and motivated the largest wave of demonstrations in the country’s recent history, with criticism of the Covidzero policy and also of the Xi Jinping regime becoming one unprecedented third term in October.
Although on a smaller scale, the protests continue also with creative and unusual ways to circumvent the repression and censorship of the dictatorship. In response to the actions, China is expected to announce further easing measures in the coming days, according to the Portal news agency.
On Thursday (April 1), during a meeting with European Union authorities in Beijing, Xi said the protests were spurred on by frustration, mostly from young people, after years of the pandemic, but the fact that the Omicron variant is less lethal , it might be possible to relax the rules from the quarantine.
A day later, Beijing residents received messages on social media with guidelines for those infected to stay at home. The measure was seen as symbolic in China’s policy to combat Covid, as it did not recommend sending patients to central quarantine, where people are placed in government facilities and separated from family to avoid household transmission.
However, the crackdown on the protests continues to be the subject of criticism around the world. On the same day, a letter signed by 42 US senators criticized the Xi regime and commemorated the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. According to the government, 300 people died in the prodemocracy demonstrations, most of them soldiers. However, human rights organizations say thousands of people have been murdered.
“We strongly caution the Chinese Communist Party against any further violent crackdown on peaceful protesters who simply want more freedom,” read an excerpt of the document sent to Beijing’s ambassador to Washington, Qin Gang. “If that happens, we believe it will have serious consequences for USChina relations.” Earlier, US diplomatic chief Antony Blinken said that China’s repression was a sign of the communist regime’s weakness .
Out there
China’s lockdown is viewed with caution and it’s still too early to talk about the end of Covid Zero. Analysts quoted by Portal say authorities are working to manage an increase in the number of cases without leading to strict containment measures or an explosion in the number of deaths.
They also say a significant reopening by March is unlikely given China’s recent launch of a mass vaccination campaign for the elderly. China recorded 32,827 new infections on Saturday, up from 34,772 the previous day. As of Friday, the country had 5,233 deaths related to the disease.