China: Zero Covid policy fueling public resentment
Beijing [China], November 13 (ANI): The announcement from the Chinese authorities, about its unwavering commitment to stick with the 'Zero Covid' policy despite mounting public frustration, fueling unrest and misery across the country, is slowly leading to public resentment, reported Inside Over.
Earlier some rumours were making the rounds that China was forming a high-level committee to pivot away from 'Zero-Covid'. The rumours led to Chinese stocks soaring last week. But the rumours turned out to be unfounded.
Disappointment among the Chinese public has been rising since the policy came to be implemented. Incessant mass testing, centralized quarantine and stringent lockdowns, which sometimes last for months are making the public go weary.
The main problem for the public with the 'Zero Covid' policy is the zero-tolerance approach. The approach of eliminating Covid cases as soon as they flare up ends up costing the very lives, it is intended to protect, read an Inside Over report, adding, "as the new fast-spreading variants are making containing the virus as near impossible, the unrelenting campaign is being enforced at a tremendous economic and social cost".
The frustration and resentment among the public, have grown particularly after the conclusion of the Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in which Premier Xi Jinping was made Premier for a record third term, with a ringing endorsement of the Zero Covid' policy.
Citing official data, a report in Inside Over stated that 5,496 local infections were reported in China on Sunday, a six-month high. More than one-third of the infections were reported in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou. The city, which comprises 19 million people, is experiencing its worst outbreak since the start of the pandemic,
The Hazihu district of Guangzhou is currently placed under lockdown.
The report further cited experts who warned of a new wave of infections and a new cycle of government-enforced lockdowns as winter approaches.
In an illustration of the growing frustration among the public in the central province of Henan, migrant workers abandoned a locked-down Foxconn factory and walked for miles to escape the outbreak at China's largest iPhone assembling site.
In the eastern financial hub of Shanghai last week, the Disneyland abruptly shut down its gates to comply with Covid prevention measures while the visitors were taken through compulsory testing.
The curbs were even more harsh and stringent in the northwestern city of Xining where residents kept pleading for food during lockdowns. In Tibetan capital Lhasa, angry crowds were seen protesting on the streets after being at home for more than 90 days.
In many other parts of the country, businesses and everyday life continue to be crippled and hampered by lockdowns, mandatory quarantines, daily mass testing edicts and travel restrictions.
The restrictions were further tightened in the lead-up to the Communist Party Congress in October and they haven't been relaxed since. The repeating cycle of lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing is taking a heavy toll on the economy and the society, the Inside Over reported, adding that public patience is wearing thin, and frustrations are building. (ANI)
Source: WORLD