An estimated 340 million people in at least 46 cities are in some form of lockdown or restraint in China, as cases occur in many provinces – often in very small quantities. Guangzhou authorities banned hundreds of flights on Thursday after a suspected case was identified. In Hangzhou all residents are told to take a test every 48 hours if they want to travel to the city. In Shanghai, some residents hang out of their windows by pounding pots and pans in a night protest of the weeks-long lockdown that has plagued food shortages. A loudspeaker passing through their streets says their protest was “instigated by foreign forces”, while the flying drones urge them to “control your soul’s desire for freedom”. In the capital, Beijing residents are being supplied with food in the event of a Shanghai-type quarantine as dozens of new cases are reported daily, causing apartment buildings to be locked, schools closed and weddings, funerals and receptions suspended. In the official evening news show, few of them make the cut. Instead, history is a success in the battle to recover the zero Covid. More than two years after the pandemic, China is the last major government to remain politically committed, determined that even the Omicron contagious variant will be controlled through mass testing, travel restrictions and lockdowns.
“We try to run faster than the virus”
Chinese officials say their approach is best for both lives and the economy, and they have no choice but to stick to it. China’s booster and vaccination rates, especially among the elderly, are not high enough and its medical system does not have sufficient resources or geographical law to prevent catastrophic diseases and death. “We are trying to run faster than the virus,” said Li Bin, deputy director of China’s National Health Commission, on Friday. “No matter how the virus develops, we always put people and their lives first.” A quarantined woman sits on her rooftop balcony, 27 April 2022. Photo: Alex Plavevski / EPA Foreign analysts and health experts agree that China can not open up yet. They also raise questions about the effectiveness of its domestic vaccines and the government’s refusal to approve foreign-made vaccines. Even so, owning one is still beyond the reach of the average person. But analysts also fear that China will not join the world in life with Covid even when conditions are better. Zero Covid is said to be so closely linked to the political legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party and its leader, Xi Jinping, that there is no ramp. As the impact of zero Covid destroys the will of the people and the health of the economy, as well as a growing outbreak in the capital, this legitimacy may be threatened. “The political legitimacy of the CCP’s power lies in its ability to provide a livelihood, safety and health. “They have to show their skills,” said Professor Chi Chunhuei, director of the Oregon State University World Health Center. “But local leaders also face a dilemma because they also have a responsibility to improve or enhance China’s economic growth.”
Xi’s biggest challenge?
Zero Covid has undoubtedly saved lives, but other consequences of policymaking are difficult. Economic analysts predict a continued slowdown in growth and investors withdrew a record $ 17.5 billion in stocks and bonds from the Chinese market in March. Cargo ships and cargo ships have been supported in ports and roads, factories shut down and warehouses with capacity. Foreign companies have left Shanghai or reported major problems in attracting and retaining talent. Cashiers and international tutors are reportedly packing up and leaving. Online and in Shanghai, there is a significant and public volume of domestic frustration that police and censors are struggling to keep up with. In an apparent acknowledgment of the tax on the pandemic, Xi last month ordered officials to succeed with zero Covid but “at minimal cost and [to] minimizing the effects of the epidemic on economic and social development “. This month, Xi called for comprehensive efforts to boost infrastructure spending, pushing public growth in an effort to boost the economy. Aerial view of an empty road in the Pudong area after Shanghai imposed a lockdown across the city to stop the spread of Covid-19 on April 1, 2022. Photo: VCG / Getty Images There is little room for officials to question Xi’s goals for Covid, says Professor Carl Minzner, a Chinese scholar and law professor at Fordham Law School, but there is resistance. “There are people in the bureaucracy who realize the real cost that this imposes on citizens,” says Minzner. “But when politics rules, there is no room for anything to emerge as a reason.” Disagreements between the political and medical elites are occasionally published, but they quickly spread from the Internet, and the years of Xi’s graft purges have removed or silenced many political opponents. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST The CCP will hold its congress twice a year later this year, at which Xi is expected to seek an unprecedented third term as leader. In recent years it has been said to be largely inevitable, but the timing and impact of China’s worst outbreak, as well as the war in Ukraine, have overturned the stability he probably hoped to see with confidence. “There is a possibility that a zero-Covid failure, now that he has taken so clear responsibility for it, is a challenge for Xi,” said Professor Mary Gallagher, a political scientist and China expert at the University of Michigan. “We are in uncharted waters as to how these transitions work. With constitutional amendments [introduced in 2018 to remove term limits] “Xi is expected to take his third term, but it is very unclear how it will actually happen.” Gallagher says the political elite is the most divided it has seen since 1989, not only for Covid, but also for the economy and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A worker sprays disinfectant inside a fenced community as Hangzhou begins a new round of antigen and nucleic acid testing across the city on April 28, 2022 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Photo: VCG / Getty Images “We know there is a debate among the elites. “Unfortunately, he is facing a period of time for Xi Jinping that makes the opening very dangerous.” Shanghai’s efforts to avoid the lockdown were potentially overconfident, Gallagher says, or an example of disagreement between leaders who wanted to take a different path, Chi said. “Shanghai is the largest city with the richest health and medical resources,” says Chi, arguing that the reason officials initially resisted a lockdown was because it would send a ripple effect across the nation: “If the city with the best resources must be locked [to contain an outbreak] then what about the other cities? “ But it failed as cases swept through the city, forcing 25 million people to lockdown anyway.
“No solution found”
Five weeks later, Shanghai officials announced Friday that more than 12 million people in what is now considered a low-risk area have been able to flee their homes, but residents say there are still problems. Wang Yi-chun, a 27-year-old Shanghai resident who did not want to be named, says she was allowed to leave her apartment but the rules change quickly and without warning and she would like to leave town when she had the chance. View of housing units during a Covid-19 lockdown in Shanghai’s Jing’an District on April 21, 2022. Photo: Héctor Retamal / AFP / Getty Images “Before the lockdown in Shanghai, I never imagined things would go that way,” says Wang. “I thought they would have a process that would prepare them to deal with situations like this. But they had none. No solution has been developed all this time. “I do not understand what they are doing at the moment.” Beijing now reports dozens of cases a day, but as of Friday it had closed only individual homes and premises. Aside from the panic attack, things seem to be going well as residents in the affected areas are reporting tests. There is a belief that the Beijing authorities are doing a better job than the Shanghai authorities, but with the usual arsenal of measures. “Xi Jinping declared victory over the virus in 2020 and [pandemic] “Success has become emblematic of his personal political success,” says Minzner. “Unless Xi himself decides to step down politically, I find it difficult to imagine China retreating from a zero-Covid policy.” Additional references by Xiaoqian Zhu and Chi Hui Lin
