Just a few days ago, there was no sign of a change of course in Beijing. But now there should actually be a soft easing of China’s strict zero-Covid policy, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters news agency. According to reports, certain people who have tested positive for Covid-19 should be able to quarantine at home. Announcements are expected in the coming days.
At the beginning of this year, entire neighborhoods or cities were isolated if only one corona infection was detected. However, not everyone who tested positive is allowed to quarantine at home, according to an insider. Pregnant women, the elderly and people with underlying illnesses are destined for home isolation, as are those who have close contact if their home environment meets certain conditions, it said. The National Health Commission of the People’s Republic has not yet confirmed the information.
Due to the strict zero-Covid policy, with which the government of President Xi Jinping wants to contain Corona, protesters have taken to the streets in recent days. Public protests against the government and the leader are rare in China, and the recent wave of civil disobedience is unprecedented. Some demonstrations were brutally crushed and journalists reporting on them were also intimidated.
Tiananmen student leaders see Xi weakened
The leader of the 1989 student protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square sees President Xi weakened by the current protests. “You can fool your people for a while, some people maybe even their whole lives. But never think that you can fool everyone forever,” exiled dissident Wu’er Kaixi told the Tagesspiegel.
“The Chinese people are neither stupid nor weak. That should make you tremble, Xi Jinping,” the 54-year-old warned. The recent protests filled him with hope. However, he also fears an escalation. “I definitely don’t want to see a second massacre.” Wu’er Kaixi was a one of the most famous student leaders of the pro-democracy movement in China, who was brutally crushed in 1989. After the massacre, he fled the country where he was persecuted and now lives in exile in Taiwan.
Source: Krone
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