Tag: COVID-19 Pandemic

China Reports 2 New COVID Deaths as Some Restrictions Eased

Chin@Strategy

Hong Kong —  China on Sunday reported two additional deaths from COVID-19 as some cities move cautiously to ease anti-pandemic restrictions following increasingly vocal public frustrations. The National Health Commission said one death was reported each in the provinces of Shandong and Sichuan. No information was given about the ages of the victims or whether they had been fully vaccinated. China, where the virus first was detected in late 2019 in the central city of Wuhan, is the last major country trying to stop transmission completely through quarantines, lockdowns and…

Shanghai Axes Some COVID Testing Requirements  

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Beijing —  Authorities in China’s financial hub of Shanghai will from Monday scrap some testing requirements in the country’s latest relaxing of its strict zero-COVID policy following nationwide protests unseen in decades. Multiple cities have started to roll back some restrictions after public resentment at harsh and prolonged containment measures reached a boiling point last weekend, when spontaneous protests broke out in multiple Chinese cities. Shanghai residents will no longer need a 48-hour negative test result to use public transport and enter outdoor venues such as parks and tourist attractions,…

Beijing, Shenzhen Scrap COVID-19 Tests for Public Transport 

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Beijing —  Chinese authorities on Saturday announced a further easing of COVID-19 curbs with major cities such as Shenzhen and Beijing no longer requiring negative tests to take public transport. The slight relaxation of testing requirements comes even as daily virus infections reach near-record highs, and follows weekend protests across the country by residents frustrated by the rigid enforcement of anti-virus restrictions that are now entering their fourth year, even as the rest of the world has opened up. The southern technological manufacturing center of Shenzhen said Saturday that commuters…

China Eases Some COVID Restrictions Following Protests

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Days after protests erupted in China over the country’s strict zero-COVID policy, there are signs the government is beginning to ease its testing requirements and quarantine rules in some cities, but it is unclear whether the measures will go far enough to appease those who have been in lockdown for so long. Some called for more protests in China this weekend, but it remains to be seen if people will take to the streets like they did last weekend, when demonstrations broke out in more than 20 cities in a…

China Fines Former NBA Star Lin Over Quarantine Comments

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BEIJING —  Former NBA star Jeremy Lin, who plays for a Chinese team, was fined 10,000 yuan ($1,400) for “inappropriate remarks” on social media about quarantine facilities ahead of a game, China’s professional league announced Friday, as the government tries to stop protests against anti-virus controls that are among the world’s most stringent. Also Friday, more cities eased restrictions, allowing shopping malls, supermarkets and other businesses to reopen following protests last weekend in Shanghai and other areas in which some crowds called for President Xi Jinping to resign. Urumqi in…

China Blames Foreigners for Inciting Protests

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NEW DELHI —  China’s rulers are accusing “hostile forces,” including foreigners, of inciting street demonstrations in more than three dozen Chinese cities and many more universities in the biggest domestic political challenge for Beijing since 1989’s Tiananmen Square protests. At stake is the legitimacy of the ruling Chinese Communist Party as protesters question its management of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government has used repressive methods such as repetitive mass testing, quarantines, and lockdowns resulting in large-scale unemployment and economic loss. Jolted, the government is handling the new situation cautiously. Though…

Uyghurs in Istanbul Seek Justice for Urumqi Fire Victims

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Mohammad Mehmet Ali lost his mother and four siblings in an apartment fire on Nov. 24 in China. Since then, he has been protesting China’s response to the incident. In an interview with VOA, he accused authorities of not putting out the fire, which spread in a building occupied mostly by Uyghurs, a Turkic minority ethnic group. VOA’s Umut Colak has filed this story from Istanbul, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. Camera: Umut Colak VOA

For China, No Easy Way Out of ‘Zero-COVID’ Policy

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WASHINGTON —  As much of the world returned to some kind of new normal in 2022, China remains the only country sticking to a strict “zero-COVID” policy to control the spread of a global pandemic. While credited with saving lives, the policy slowed the economy, exacerbated supply-chain disruptions, cost millions of jobs, forced a large portion of Chinese residents into some form of lockdown for months, and is now, experts say, forcing Beijing’s leadership to seek a way out of a problem they don’t admit having. Over the last weekend…

China Softens Tone on COVID Severity After Protests

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Beijing —  China is softening its tone on the severity of COVID-19 and easing some coronavirus restrictions even as its daily case toll hovers near record highs, after anger over the world’s toughest curbs fueled protests across the country. Several cities in the world’s second-largest economy, while still reporting new infections, are breaking with practice by lifting district lockdowns and allowing businesses to reopen. Health authorities announcing the relaxation of measures did not mention the protests, which ranged from candle-lit vigils in Beijing to clashes with the police on the…

Chinese Students Take Aim at Beijing During Seoul Solidarity Protest

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Seoul —  Over 100 people, including dozens of Chinese students, called for an end to China’s zero-COVID policy and lashed out at the country’s authoritarian political system during a demonstration Wednesday in South Korea’s capital, the latest overseas show of support for protests that have swept mainland China. The protesters, who gathered on the street in Seoul’s Hongdae neighborhood, held signs reading “Dictator out” and “Free China” as they called for Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party to step down. Others held blank white sheets of paper, which…