Across much of the world people are taking international holidays, returning to the office, and going to festivals and political rallies. Faced with the seemingly unstoppable Omicron variant, they’ve decided to live as close to normality as they can in the presence of Covid-19, limiting its impact. But in Covid-zero China it’s a vastly different story. An estimated 340 million people in at least 46 cities are under some form of lockdown or restrictions in China, as cases appear in multiple provinces – often in so far tiny quantities. On…
Month: April 2022
Xi Jinping Suffers From the Putin Effect
Advertisement The Chinese government’s stand on Russia’s horrific invasion of Ukraine is a litmus test of Xi Jinping’s literacy in international affairs. How he goes forward in managing China’s response to the ongoing war – which may become a wider one – has profound implications not only for Xi’s personal standing but also for China’s overall reputation throughout a world in which it is attempting to gain wider influence and control. In fact, as the war worsens and Vladimir Putin and his commanders now face the specter of being tried…
Shanghai lockdown: Residents protest after five weeks of strict zero-Covid measures
Residents have been banging pans and shouting from the windows of their homes, to protest against the government enforced lockdown in Shanghai. The Chinese government has been pursuing a zero-Covid strategy since the beginning of the pandemic, with the aim of keeping the country entirely Covid free. Criticism of the government is rare in China, but residents said they have struggled to access food supplies, while others have been temporarily evacuated from their homes so they can be disinfected. BBC
Musk’s Ties to China Could Create Headaches for Twitter
SAN FRANCISCO — When Elon Musk opened a Tesla factory in Shanghai in 2019, the Chinese government welcomed him with billions of dollars’ worth of cheap land, loans, tax breaks and subsidies. “I really think China is the future,” Mr. Musk cheered. Tesla’s road since then has been lucrative, with a quarter of the company’s revenue in 2021 coming from China, but not without problems. The firm faced a consumer and regulatory revolt in China last year over manufacturing flaws. With his deal to take over Twitter, Mr. Musk’s ties…
Shanghai’s month under lockdown – in pictures
Shanghai city authorities have said they will start Covid-19 testing over the next few days to determine which neighbourhoods can safely be allowed a limited amount of freedom of movement. The city’s lockdown began a month ago, taking a toll on residents confined to their homes. While a small, lucky portion of people have been allowed to leave their homes in the past week, the vast majority of people remain confined The Guardian
Jixian Wang: The Chinese vlogger broadcasting the Ukraine war
Earlier this year Chinese programmer Jixian Wang moved to the Ukrainian port city of Odesa for work. Months later, Russia invaded the country. Mr Wang found that back home his friends and family were being told a different version of what was happening in Ukraine, by Chinese state media. He decided to start making videos highlighting the reality of his situation and posted them on Chinese social media in the hopes of reaching his fellow countrymen. Since then he has been heavily censored and briefly cut off from contact with…
Chinese passenger traffic set for heavy fall over May Day holiday as Covid controls bite
The ministry also forecast passenger traffic would drop sharply in the Yangtze River Delta area in the east, which includes Shanghai, but hold up relatively well in the Greater Bay Area in the south and Chengdu-Chongqing area in the west. China has tallied over 550,000 local infections this month, with all provinces and regions, except Tibet, reporting local cases. Advertisement Wu Liangyou, an official with the National Health Commission, said infections are still at worryingly high levels and the pandemic situation is “complicated”, but Beijing, Hebei, Jiangsu and several other…
Your Friday Briefing: China’s Stimulus Plan
Good morning. We’re covering China’s economic stimulus plan, President Biden’s push for war funds and extreme heat in India and Pakistan. China’s Covid stimulus plan As China’s lockdowns continue and new infections continue to spread in Beijing, the central government has laid out a wide-ranging economic stimulus plan to staunch expected losses. The government will subsidize businesses, pausing unemployment insurance payments if companies avoid mass layoffs, as well as electricity and internet charges. Young people graduating from college will be subsidized if they start their own businesses, since few jobs…
China plans to roll out private, personal pensions
Apr 28th 2022 HONG KONG “ASTONISHING”, “SPECTACULAR”, “unprecedented”: China has won plaudits from the World Bank and other experts for the rapid expansion of its basic state pensions over the past dozen years. The number enrolled in these schemes (including one for urban employees) crossed 1bn in 2021. But the speedy construction of this first “pillar” of China’s pension system has not been matched elsewhere in the planned edifice. Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android. Your browser does not support the <audio> element. Listen…
Pet-owners in China are banding together to save furry lives
Apr 28th 2022 BEIJING ASK URBAN Chinese if they see upsides to life in covid-19 lockdown, and a common reply is: I know my neighbours better. This is especially true of pet-owners. Tens of millions of Chinese are currently unable to leave their homes. All face being taken to isolation centres, should they test positive or be declared close contacts of a virus-carrier. A grim fate for anyone, centralised quarantine is terrifying for pet-owners, who must scramble to find a shelter or someone to foster their animals. If they fail,…