Dhe end of the Chinese zero-Covid strategy came faster than most had expected. In the past few days, numerous cities had initially announced minor easing. The bang from Beijing followed on Wednesday. The National Health Commission presented a ten-point plan that calls into question the instruments of the previous corona policy, quarantine centers, mass tests and nationwide lockdowns. The plan provides for the first time that people infected with corona can isolate themselves at home instead of being forcibly taken to hospitals or quarantine centers.
The new rules are tantamount to a paradigm shift. The focus is shifting from pushing back the virus to treating the sick and protecting risk groups. More precise preventive measures should restrict the economy and society less. At least that’s how the Health Commission sees it. It remains to be seen how local governments in China will implement the new regulations in practice. “Does Beijing also belong to China?” was a frequently asked question on the Chinese internet on Wednesday. Many are skeptical as to whether the Chinese capital will stop bullying visitors with its health app.
Influenza is now said to be more dangerous than Corona
Without the recent protests against the zero-Covid strategy, the change of course would probably not have been so clear. The first minimal easing was announced in November. But in view of the increasing corona numbers, the reins had been tightened again. Then the frustration about the harsh measures and the economic misery erupted in protests. At the end of November, thousands took to the streets in various cities and universities.
In Wuhan, for example, thousands of residents marched through a commercial street and tore down corona barriers. In Beijing, the demonstrators demanded freedom of expression, in Shanghai some even demanded Xi Jinping’s resignation. In Guangzhou, the protests turned violent. The local government was the first to react there by easing the restrictions. Three days later, the central government also flipped the switch – initially rhetorically. Last Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chunlan suddenly said that Omicron was less dangerous than previous variants of the virus.
Since then, scientists have been telling state television every day that the flu is more dangerous than Corona. The Chinese leadership has not directly admitted that it was responding to the protests by changing course. But she made little effort to dispel this impression. Between the lines you can read the message that you have understood. Apparently, the leadership hopes to prevent further protests by fleeing to the front. At the same time, the success could encourage many to stand up for their rights more vehemently in the future.
There is hardly any talk of the fight against Corona
Before the new Corona rules were announced, the party’s Politburo met on Tuesday. In an official summary of the meeting, there was a lot of talk about the economy and hardly any about the fight against the corona virus. Ultimately, the devastating economic situation forced Xi Jinping to give in. It had long been said that he was sticking to the zero-Covid strategy to save face. He had invested a lot of political capital in Corona politics. In the end, however, his credibility suffered more from sticking to the failed strategy than from the 180-degree turnaround. No one in China believed that the zero-Covid policy was an expression of the superiority of the Chinese system, as announced by Xi Jinping in 2020.
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