3/20/2023 0 Comments Covid lockdown![]() ![]() The weapons set off confrontations, leading to exasperated tourists shouting: “Who are you pointing the guns at?” The New York Times has not been able to independently verify the videos, which have mostly been censored on Chinese social media but continued to circulate widely on Twitter. Some videos shared online showed what appeared to be guards or police officers clad in white hazmat suits carrying guns and riot shields at the airport. On Tuesday, the Xishuangbanna prefecture’s health authorities tightened restrictions, effectively preventing most people from leaving. In the southwest province of Yunnan, angry travelers took to the Chinese social media site Weibo to vent their anger over being stranded at the Xishuangbanna airport after flights were canceled on short notice. Similar problems in other areas, most notably in Shanghai earlier this year and in Tibet a few weeks ago, have led to anger about the human and economic toll of the harsh measures. Shortage of daily necessities, as well as the chaotic enforcement of attempts to curb the outbreak, had already forced local officials to admit failings. Last month, residents in Yining, a city in Xinjiang, flooded social media platforms to plead for food and other provisions, including sanitary pads and medicine, during a long lockdown. But such lockdowns could lead to more problems. On Tuesday, Xinjiang effectively banned residents and visitors from leaving, stopping all trains and buses from departing the region and stopping most flights. Officials in Xinjiang were forced to admit that lapses in their approach led to cases spilling over from the region to other provinces and major cities, including Beijing. The fast-spreading Omicron variant has constantly slipped through China’s tight restrictions. Shortages of food and medicine have been common in those areas, prompting residents to take to social media with complaints and pleas for help. Lockdowns have been punishing for the residents of less-developed regions. The Death of Li Wenliang: A Times video investigation reveals new details about the death of the Chinese doctor who faced censorship after sounding an early alarm on Covid-19.The Costs of ‘Zero Covid’ : With China’s coronavirus testing apparatus growing bigger and bigger, the resources to support it have come under more financial strain.Communist Party Congress : President Xi Jinping defended his hard-line reign during a pivotal meeting of China’s ruling elite, where he is expected to secure a third term, extending his authoritarian rule. ![]() A Murky Economic Picture : China’s delay in releasing routine growth data comes as just the latest example of how hard it has become to peer into the country’s economy.They are locking down regions and cities and mandating mass testing and quarantines, disrupting life for millions of people and drawing public complaints. ![]() They have responded by ramping up restrictions that many already deem excessive. But Chinese authorities are under immense pressure to ensure that nothing disrupts the party congress, which starts Oct. Provincial and local officials have vowed to stop the spread of the coronavirus from “spilling over” to Beijing, the capital, where the meeting will be held.ĭaily Covid counts have more than doubled in the past week, to around 1,400 cases on Friday, in the country of 1.4 billion people - a tally that remains tiny by global standards. And in a popular travel destination in Yunnan, in China’s south, the government canceled flights, trapping crowds of angry tourists at an airport.Ĭhina is facing its largest flare-up of Covid cases in a month, complicating its preparations for an all-important Communist Party meeting where Xi Jinping is expected to expand his authority and claim another term in power. In Inner Mongolia in the north, the authorities vowed “all-out” efforts to cut the spread of the virus. In China’s far west region of Xinjiang, officials imposed a near-total lockdown and made a rare admission of failure in their handling of a Covid outbreak. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |