The Chinese authorities are willing to do whatever is necessary to stem the wave of protests against the zero covid policy unleashed in many cities across the country over the weekend. This is clear from the latest statements by the organ of the Communist Party (CPC) in charge of the forces of order, which indicated that they will take "energetic measures" against the "infiltration and sabotage activities of hostile forces."
Chinese security czar Chen Wenqing took advantage of Monday's meeting of the CPC Political and Legal Affairs Commission to urge law enforcement agencies to take necessary measures to safeguard national security and social stability. .
Although he made no explicit mention of the recent protests, the message was clear. "Illegal and criminal acts that disturb the social order will not be tolerated," he said, according to the statement made public by the state press on Tuesday night.
After the outbreak of social discontent at the weekend, Beijing is trying by all means to prevent the situation from getting out of hand. To do this, it has significantly increased the presence of uniformed soldiers on the streets of large cities such as Beijing or Shanghai, where unusual slogans against the CCP or its leader, Xi Jinping, were even heard on Saturday, and it has fenced off those places where the first demonstrations took place. to torpedo new concentrations.
In recent days, the agents have also contacted several of those attending the weekend protests to demand explanations and increased censorship on social networks.
The agents have also come to demand the mobile phones of passers-by who circulate through some sensitive points to see if they have a VPN installed that allows them to bypass the great Chinese firewall and use applications such as Twitter or Telegram, which are prohibited in the country. There are even images of police checking the phones of some passengers on the Shanghai subway.
Even so, that did not prevent clashes between protesters and police in the Haizhu district of the city of Guangzhou (formerly Canton) on Tuesday night, one of the main outbreaks of the outbreak that the Asian country is suffering these days.
In one of the videos broadcast on social networks, dozens of policemen dressed in special protective suits are seen as they advance in formation over barricades that the protesters had demolished.
Other images show how some neighbors throw glass bottles at the agents or how tear gas canisters fall in an alley while people try to escape. There are also graphic records of the police taking several people into custody.
Although it is still not clear what caused the altercations, testimonies shared on social networks suggest that it all started with a dispute over the restrictions imposed on the city of more than 15 million inhabitants.
The city already witnessed similar protests a few weeks ago led mainly by migrant workers unhappy with the restrictions, which do not allow them to earn a salary or return to their homes in other provinces and have forced them to seek refuge in improvised places.
Hours later, without expressly mentioning the clashes, the local authorities announced the reopening of several districts of the city such as Panyu, Liwan or Tianhe that remained confined.
For its part, the one in Haizhu, the hardest hit by the virus and the scene of the protests, will allow “in principle” some of the close contacts of those infected to confine themselves from now on at home instead of in the community centers set up for it.
Even so, with almost 38,000 new positives nationwide in the last count, there is no prospect that the authorities will sponsor a radical change in the anti-covid policy that has generated so much discontent in a significant part of the population.
During a long-awaited appearance that took place yesterday, health officials only conceded that the strong restrictions have caused complaints because they are sometimes applied with excessive zeal and affect the "normal life" of people and their mental health, and they called local authorities not to indulge in excesses. Even so, they reaffirmed the continuity of the blocking policy, although with adjustments to "minimize the inconvenience imposed on the general public," they said.
The National Health Commission also promised to speed up the vaccination of the elderly who, despite being the group most vulnerable to the effects of the coronavirus, have so far been reluctant to receive injections. According to their data, only 65.7% of those over 80 years of age have received the full vaccine regimen, a figure that drops to 40% for the booster dose.
In the past, some local governments have used discount coupons, gifts or even cash to try to convince the elderly to get vaccinated. Yesterday, officials said they plan to "educate on the importance and benefits of being inoculated" and reduce the deadline to get the booster dose, although without announcing more concrete measures.
