Beijing: Spread xinjiang The latest Chinese sector to be widely affected is COVID-19 Travel restrictions, as China moves containment measures ahead of a major Communist Party congress later this month.
Reports on Thursday said trains and buses in and out of the region of 22 million people have been suspended, and the number of passengers on flights has been reduced to 75%.
A notice from the regional government said the measures were implemented to “strictly prevent the risk of spillover” of the virus, but gave no other details.
As is often the case with China’s strict “zero-Covid” policy, the measures seemed out of proportion to the number of cases detected.
The National Health Commission announced just 93 cases in Xinjiang on Wednesday and 97 on Thursday, all of them asymptomatic. Xinjiang’s leaders acknowledged problems with the detection and control measures on Tuesday, but did not say anything about planning to lift the restrictions.
Officials are desperate not to be called out for new outbreaks in their regions and are under special scrutiny by the Xinjiang government over the establishment of a series of prison-like re-education centers in which Muslim minorities are forced to abandon their religion and allegedly subjected have been taught to live. for a series of human rights abuses.
Xinjiang’s vast surveillance systems rely on ubiquitous checkpoints, facial and even voice recognition software, and universal cell phone surveillance has made it particularly easy to control travel between populations.
The first 40 days of lockdown in Xinjiang left many residents complaining of inadequate food supplies.
“Zero-Covid” has been closely identified with the leader of the Communist Party Xi JinpingWho is expected to get a third five-year term in office in Congress starting October 16. This is despite the criticisms World Health Organization and massive disruption to the economy, education and normal life in China.
Last month, a nightly bus accident that killed 27 people who were being taken to a mass quarantine location in southwestern China sparked a storm of anger online over the policy’s harshness. The survivors said that they were forced to leave their apartments even though not a single case was reported.
The “zero-Covid” has been celebrated by the country’s leaders as a testament to the superiority of its system over the US, which has seen over one million Covid-19 deaths.
Xi cited China’s approach as evidence of a “major strategic success” and a “significant advantage” of its political system over Western liberal democracies.
Yet as other countries open up, the human cost to China’s pandemic approach has risen. With national and some provincial borders closed, tourism has dried up completely and the economy is projected world Bank Anemic is expected to grow at 2.8 per cent this year. Xinjiang has been particularly hard hit by sanctions against some of its officials and products over human rights concerns.
Even without nationally recognized norms, testing and lockdowns have become the norm for millions in China from the North Korean border to the South China Sea, as local officials desperately try to avoid punishment and criticism.
Earlier this year in Shanghai, desperate residents complained of being unable to get medicines or groceries during a two-month lockdown, while some died of lack of medical care in hospitals as movement in the city was restricted. Was. All 26 million city residents in China’s biggest city and financial center have been ordered to undergo two additional days of testing this week, despite the announcement of just 11 new cases on Thursday, none of whom showed symptoms.
Reports on Thursday said trains and buses in and out of the region of 22 million people have been suspended, and the number of passengers on flights has been reduced to 75%.
A notice from the regional government said the measures were implemented to “strictly prevent the risk of spillover” of the virus, but gave no other details.
As is often the case with China’s strict “zero-Covid” policy, the measures seemed out of proportion to the number of cases detected.
The National Health Commission announced just 93 cases in Xinjiang on Wednesday and 97 on Thursday, all of them asymptomatic. Xinjiang’s leaders acknowledged problems with the detection and control measures on Tuesday, but did not say anything about planning to lift the restrictions.
Officials are desperate not to be called out for new outbreaks in their regions and are under special scrutiny by the Xinjiang government over the establishment of a series of prison-like re-education centers in which Muslim minorities are forced to abandon their religion and allegedly subjected have been taught to live. for a series of human rights abuses.
Xinjiang’s vast surveillance systems rely on ubiquitous checkpoints, facial and even voice recognition software, and universal cell phone surveillance has made it particularly easy to control travel between populations.
The first 40 days of lockdown in Xinjiang left many residents complaining of inadequate food supplies.
“Zero-Covid” has been closely identified with the leader of the Communist Party Xi JinpingWho is expected to get a third five-year term in office in Congress starting October 16. This is despite the criticisms World Health Organization and massive disruption to the economy, education and normal life in China.
Last month, a nightly bus accident that killed 27 people who were being taken to a mass quarantine location in southwestern China sparked a storm of anger online over the policy’s harshness. The survivors said that they were forced to leave their apartments even though not a single case was reported.
The “zero-Covid” has been celebrated by the country’s leaders as a testament to the superiority of its system over the US, which has seen over one million Covid-19 deaths.
Xi cited China’s approach as evidence of a “major strategic success” and a “significant advantage” of its political system over Western liberal democracies.
Yet as other countries open up, the human cost to China’s pandemic approach has risen. With national and some provincial borders closed, tourism has dried up completely and the economy is projected world Bank Anemic is expected to grow at 2.8 per cent this year. Xinjiang has been particularly hard hit by sanctions against some of its officials and products over human rights concerns.
Even without nationally recognized norms, testing and lockdowns have become the norm for millions in China from the North Korean border to the South China Sea, as local officials desperately try to avoid punishment and criticism.
Earlier this year in Shanghai, desperate residents complained of being unable to get medicines or groceries during a two-month lockdown, while some died of lack of medical care in hospitals as movement in the city was restricted. Was. All 26 million city residents in China’s biggest city and financial center have been ordered to undergo two additional days of testing this week, despite the announcement of just 11 new cases on Thursday, none of whom showed symptoms.