October 13, 2022 at 1:29 am
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Some observers from China had expected China’s draconian anti-epidemic policies to fade after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China this weekend. However, Beijing recently released signals one after another, which implies that the new coronavirus “zero” policy will not change in the short term.
The People’s Daily, the Communist Party newspaper, ran an article by a commentator signed “Zhong Yin” for three consecutive days, stressing that dynamic recovery is “sustainable and must be respected”. As a spokesperson newspaper, the authors of such subtitle articles generally have an official background.
According to Chinese media reports, Shanghai Pudong New Area and many other places recently made announcements to recruit community prevention and control personnel, and the contract duration is two years, which once again bolstered the expectations of the outside world. for the authorities to continue the epidemic prevention policy.
Since the outbreak of the new corona outbreak in early 2020, the Chinese government has taken measures such as city closures, large-scale testing, and strict border control to ensure a much lower infection rate than other countries. complaints, disputes.
On Tuesday (October 11) the People’s Daily said in a comment titled “Dynamic recovery is sustainable and must be respected”: “Currently, the epidemic situation across the country still has the characteristics of ‘more spots and more areas’, and there is yet another domestic epidemic, the areas at medium and high risk are approved and the prevention and control activities are arduous and arduous ”.
The article stressed: “The more this is the case, the more we must deeply realize that ‘dynamic recovery’ is sustainable and must be respected, and continue to focus scientifically on epidemic prevention and control.”
“If we calculate the general ledger, our epidemic prevention measures are the cheapest and most effective … The spread of the epidemic will inevitably cause the most serious losses to people’s lives and property,” the article reads.
Since the outbreak of the new corona epidemic, the Chinese propaganda department has often described the country’s drive to success in the fight against the epidemic as a major political achievement of leader Xi Jinping, because the country’s death toll due to the new epidemic crown was relatively low. On the contrary, state media have often ridiculed Western countries for announcing the easing of restrictions for failing to fight the virus.
On Wednesday, the People’s Daily published another article stating that some countries have chosen to “lie down” and adopt a policy of “coexistence with the virus”, “not because they do not want to prevent and control the epidemic, but because they do not they can prevent and control the disease and are unable to prevent and control it. “
In addition, on Tuesday (October 11) the official Xinhua news agency issued a cry: “Improving concentration and resilience, prevention and control of epidemics must not be in vain.”
At a time when the official media have published many articles, more and more people and investors are expecting the authorities to ease restrictions after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. China is under increasing economic pressure due to frequent blockade measures.
The World Bank lowered its forecast for China’s economic growth this year in a recent forecast, predicting that its GDP will grow 2.8 percent, up from a forecast of 5 percent in April. The growth rate is lower than that of the developing economies of East Asia, which would be the first time since 1990.
The coronavirus restrictions have also led to complaints from people who need to travel and people fear they will have to quarantine at any time. According to data from the Ministry of Transportation, the average daily number of passengers sent during the seven-day national holiday in China this year decreased by 36% compared to the same period last year and by 58% compared to the same period in 2019. .
However, the Chinese government has repeatedly stated that the current epidemic prevention policy will not change. In May of this year, Chinese leaders called at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to “fight resolutely against all words and facts that distort, doubt and deny anti-epidemic policies. of my country and politics. “
According to Chinese media reports, seven districts in Shanghai’s financial center have started recruiting staff for community checkpoints and prevention posts, bringing the total to 940. These people should specifically assist in the operation of community nucleic acid testing sites. and coordinate the management of the community closure.
Among them, Pudong New Area announced it will recruit 575 people from the company under a 2-year contract.
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Beijing recently released signals one after another, suggesting that the novel coronavirus “zero-out” policy will not change in the short term.
The two-tier organizations of the Communist Youth League in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the capital, Hohhot, also announced that more than 4,300 epidemic prevention and control volunteers have been recruited to fight the epidemic. Hohhot has found nearly 4,000 infected people in the past few days.
On the eve of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the number of cities in China affected by the new corona epidemic reached a record high. According to reports, on October 7, a total of 31 provinces of China and 171 cities of the Xinjiang Manufacturing and Construction Corps had positive infections.
The autonomous region of Xinjiang, which represents about one sixth of the Chinese area, has announced the suspension of all passenger trains, while asking “not to leave Xinjiang unless necessary”. Xinjiang officials also apologized for the virus that has spread to other regions, saying it “has affected the overall situation in the prevention and control of national epidemics.”
Cai Qi, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, ordered the capital to always maintain a state of “walking fine lines in Linyuan” and to do everything to protect itself. In the first half of this year, Shanghai, which had been closed for two months, announced that community nucleic acid screening will be carried out at least twice a week in all districts of the city until early November.
Sun Shaocheng, secretary of the Party Committee of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, ordered that the prevention of the epidemic must follow the “killing of chickens with a bull’s knife” to prevent the spread of the epidemic, “especially not to spill over. in Beijing “.
