[르포] Closed circuit daily PCR test for 3 days 2 nights … Quarantine of the Chinese party congress

“In a situation where countries around the world take off their masks and go back to their daily lives, isn’t it too much to quarantine even if the PCR test is negative?”

A foreign correspondent who met at the press center of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on the 15th expressed his dissatisfaction with China’s super strong quarantine policy as follows:

Then another foreign correspondent next door joked: “If you want to live and report in China, you must be familiar with PCR testing and you shouldn’t be afraid of quarantine.”

He said he was quarantined for more than a week for more than 10 times, referring to the Wuhan Corona 19 incident, two meetings (the National People’s Assembly and the National People’s Political Consultative Conference) and the launch of a manned spacecraft.

At the opening ceremony of the party congress to decide on the next Chinese leadership (June 16), we received permission to cover major world media such as Reuters, AP, AFP and Bloomberg, but the reason I was both happy and worried was because of China’s ultra-strong quarantine policy.

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After Corona 19, China reduced the number of foreign journalists for various events to the representative media of each country and adopted a method of isolating journalists for at least 1 night and 2 days before and after the event and at least a week.

Fortunately, the Chinese authorities applied a “closed-loop” method, a little more relaxed than quarantine, for the opening ceremony of the party congress.

The closed circuit is the quarantine policy adopted during the Beijing Winter Olympics in February.

During the party congress, reporters are gathered at the press center and covered by videoconferencing, and for outdoor coverage such as the opening ceremony, the minimum number of people are moved to a dedicated vehicle to block external contact.

The goal is to prevent the spread of Corona 19 by making the print shop an area closed and isolated from outside society as if a bubble were covered.

You can move freely inside the hotel, but you cannot leave the hotel front door.

The authorities also placed public security at the hotel entrance and every 10 meters around the hotel in case of an emergency.

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At the party congress, which will determine President Xi Jinping’s third consecutive term, the measures close to tuberculosis were intended as if they were to show their people the results achieved in quarantine, but the policy came that went against the global trend of recovery from everyday life outside with a sigh.

I only entered the press center after showing two identity checks the afternoon of the previous day and a negative PCR test result the day before, and having undergone further PCR tests and security checks that passed the airport checkpoint.

The first thing that caught my attention was the appearance of Chinese journalists broadcasting or taking a commemorative photo in front of a large white-on-red sign that read “The 20th Communist Party Congress Press Center Chinese”.

Each of them had an expression full of pride to be able to cover a historical moment.

The interior of the press center was filled with various photos and videos praising Xi’s achievements as if it were a known fact that the party congress would confirm Xi’s third consecutive term.

In particular, on the 2nd and 3rd floors, where the briefing room and the press room are located, a collection of President Xi’s speeches published in English, Chinese, Russian and Spanish, ‘What is China’s Dream’ and ‘One Belt, One Road ‘with the Chinese Communist Party are shown. The books were full.

There was a notice that the books were distributed free to reporters, but not many people took them.

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A press officer approached the reporter and recommended some books, boasting that both accommodation and food were free and that coffee and refreshments had been prepared.

When asked if he would have to pay such a high cost if free coverage was allowed, he responded by saying, “Corona 19 is a serious situation” and “China’s scientific quarantine is superior to Western quarantine policies.”

Many of the reporter’s acquaintances in Korea said that he recovered within days of the Corona 19 infection and was leading a normal life, but showed an expression of disbelief.

At the press conference of the party congress scheduled for the afternoon of the 15th, China should emphasize the need for a strong quarantine policy by emphasizing the “zero crown” policy called “dongtai chingling”.

About 40 foreign journalists, including Yonhap News, who received permission to attend the party congress opening ceremony, will spend the night in a closed circuit due to the authorities’ insistence on the zero-crown policy, and then move to the Sala Grande di il Popolo, where the inauguration ceremony will take place on the morning of the 16th.

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