What the regime in Beijing still thought it could defend – an almost unscathed China – when it ordered the lockdown of entire cities and regions became impossible to sustain. Because since he lifted all the barriers and announced that “everyone was responsible for his or her health”, the spectacle of hospitals and crematoriums taken by storm imposed a truth operation on the figures if he wanted to remain credible.
Really believable? This is not the opinion of the World Health Organization. Yet very understanding with Beijing since the start of the pandemic, the WHO has raised its tone by asking the Chinese for more precise, reliable, rapid data, and better information on the sequencing of viruses. Clearly, Beijing-style transparency has a long way to go.
By admitting 60,000 deaths due to Covid in December, China made an effort to be transparent. But there is still a long way to be really credible
In fact, the epidemic flared up in China throughout December. And it’s not over. As the Chinese New Year approaches, millions of people have started their transhumance to find their families, suggesting an increase in contamination in the countryside. The rabbit, astrological sign of 2023, may have a reputation for being a calm animal, but the year that opens is likely to be agitated.
We know that the decision to end the Covid hyper-control policy was the political response to the exasperation of citizens which risked degenerating into an earthquake for Xi Jinping. On this level, the tension seems to have subsided a little. But the health and economic consequences of this brutal passage from one extreme to the other have not finished being felt.
