Several retirees protest in Wuhan, China over health insurance reforms

Beijing:

Several hundred retirees protested in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Wednesday, according to eyewitnesses and images on social media, following local anger over reforms to the public health insurance system.

Protests are rare in China, where authorities strictly enforce public order laws and protests are quickly suppressed.

But expressions of public anger have occasionally surfaced, including in large protests last year against strict COVID-19 rules that have since been rescinded.

On Wednesday, a crowd of protesters gathered in front of Zhongshan Park in Wuhan for the second such gathering in a week.

Videos posted on social media showed security guards forming a human chain at the entrance of the popular landmark to prevent more protesters from entering.

Four eyewitnesses confirmed that the rally had taken place and AFP was able to geolocate footage online to areas around the park.

Reforms to China’s vast public health insurance system have reduced monthly allowances to retirees from February 1.

The changes prompted a separate rally of hundreds of retirees in front of Wuhan’s city hall last Wednesday.

Photos shared on social media showed local officials meeting for talks with some of the protesters.

Insurance reforms, introduced gradually from 2021, as local government finances are strained after years of strict and costly zero-Covid policies.

Analysts have said protests in Wuhan – the city of 11 million people where the coronavirus first emerged in late 2019 – have been fueled by the fact that officials are largely unimpressed.

“Civil servants and public institution employees are still entitled to subsidized medical aid insurance on top of the employee health insurance scheme,” political risk consulting firm Sinoinsider said in a note.

“Senior and retired CCP (Chinese Communist Party) cadres have long had access to generous medical treatment at public expense and without paying for basic health insurance.”

The firm said local governments could “compromise and quickly meet the demands of the protesters” instead of engaging in a protracted dispute.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)