Long after the outbreak of the Corona epidemic on its soil, China seems to be defeating a battle that has turned Beijing, from a health war, into a political, media and economic war, which may “Socially endanger China. Stability.”
“There is nothing more dangerous than such a shock to the ruling Totalitarian Communist Party,” he said, after constantly promoting and mocking “China’s good governance with the epidemic” and the “zero corona” policy during the epidemic. Actions of Western countries to deal with it
After the complete shutdown of the government – which is still ongoing – Shanghai, China’s largest city and its financial center, Corona, expanded rapidly in the capital Beijing, creating economic turmoil and provoking violent social reactions from tens of millions of residents. Going out, even to prepare food or to get food.
Despite these protocols, the government has not been able to prevent the emergence of hundreds of thousands of new cases in the city during quarantine.
And now a similar problem threatens the capital itself.
The Chinese government, unwilling to accept the changing nature of the virus, continues to claim that it can circumvent the virus through measures to curb it, even amid growing public discontent.
As the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is scheduled for this year, the magazine says if Chinese society loses confidence in the government’s effectiveness in fighting the epidemic, at a time when the Chinese economy is grappling with persistent closure shocks It softens. The system may soon face an “increasing legitimacy crisis”.
The magazine says that Beijing’s management of the virus in Shanghai was governed by “partisan politics” rather than appropriate public health policies, which is why “26 million Shanghai residents suddenly found themselves under the most severe quarantine in the world, which is now frequently extended.” . For more than six weeks. “
He says Quidd City’s zero-policy is accompanied by drastic measures that have little basis in science or even common sense, such as the government’s preference for costly PCR tests over rapid tests.
Also, whenever a new positive case is identified, the entire apartment complex where it was discovered will be closed and about 200,000 residents will be detained for another 14 days.
In some neighborhoods, entire apartment buildings have been relocated to quarantine centers.
Infected residents with mild or no symptoms were asked to go to temporary hospitals for isolation, after which public health workers came to their homes and sprayed large amounts of disinfectant on walls, floors, and personal items, although many studies show That’s a lot. The infection rarely spreads through contaminated surfaces and it is unlikely that the virus will survive outside the human body for a very short time.
During most of Shanghai’s quarantine periods, residents of areas under full measures were barred from going outside except for PCR testing.
Because most health care workers are mobilized to perform virus tests, very few are available to provide routine or emergency health care for other illnesses.
With the closure of wholesale markets and grocery stores, the city government quickly distributed food to residents, many of whom faced shortages not only in food but also in medicine and other key supplies.
However, China suffers a major setback in its fight against the disease because of its policies of segregation of the elderly and the current state of the disease, the magazine said. The elderly have not been vaccinated. , There are fewer health personnel to vaccinate.
By mid-April, about 38 percent of Shanghai residents over the age of 60 had not received more than one dose of the vaccine.
Watching the Chinese leadership increase pressure on the Shanghai local government has prompted officials elsewhere to redouble their actions, fearing they could be blamed if their actions were not severe enough.
The magazine says it has imposed a shutdown after discovering only two or three cases in other cities.
In April, about 45 cities across the country, accounting for nearly 30 percent of China’s population and 40 percent of its annual GDP, were completely or partially quarantined, according to the magazine.
In some rural areas, farmers had to get permission to go to their farms, and to carry out a holiday in Kianan, Hebei Province, local authorities asked residents to hand over their keys so that volunteers could lock their doors from the outside. .
The magazine says these unconventional practices are spreading to all Chinese cities and causing panic among the people.
He adds that there are reports of residents dying from inability to cope with the stress of quarantine, about patients who are not due to coronary artery, but due to denial of access to emergency health care. They lost their lives due to quarantine. Elderly citizens who were taken to quarantine centers in the middle of the night.
Motivated by such stories, Shanghai residents have become more vocal in their criticism of the government. In some areas, they clashed with police, who allegedly ordered them to hand over their homes to coronary patients.
Some of their balconies protested and knocked on pots to demand basic necessities.
He adds that there is now growing distrust of the government among the middle class, and fears, though relatively conservative, are being expressed in the media.
Excessive quarantine in Shanghai – witnessed by 26 million citizens, including many middle-class members – could be the seed of future political upheavals, the magazine said.
The magazine says it undermines economic success, which has long been a measure of the Communist Party’s legitimacy.
He added that despite all this, China’s leadership is still struggling to fight the virus.
According to researchers, there are indications that multinational corporations are seriously considering leaving China, with some saying that “Beijing’s zero-sum policy on the corona is doing what Trump’s trade war could not do.” .
Source: Lebanon Debate
