China accused of censoring criticism of Covid policy

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New Year’s Eve in China has sparked a flurry of online thinking, some critical, of the strict zero-Covid policy the country has adhered to for nearly three years.

This month, China scrapped repeated mass testing, centralized quarantine for infected people and lockdowns, hallmarks of a policy aimed at eradicating all Covid-19 outbreaks.

The sudden change in living with the virus has caused a wave of infections across the country, a drop in economic activity and international concern, with Britain and France the latest countries to impose restrictions on travelers in originating from China.

Thousands of users on China’s Weibo Twitter slammed the removal of a viral video made by local outlet Netease News that compiled real-life stories from 2022 that captivated Chinese audiences.

Many of the stories included in the video, which can no longer be seen or shared on national social media platforms, had highlighted the hardships faced by ordinary Chinese people due to the strict zero Covid policy.

Weibo and Netease did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A Weibo hashtag on the video garnered nearly four million views before disappearing from platforms around noon local time.

Social media users created new hashtags to keep the comments flowing.

“What a perverse world, you can only sing the praises of the fake but you can’t show the real life,” wrote one user, attaching a screenshot of a blank page that shows up when searching hashtags.

The disappearance of the videos and hashtags, seen by many as an act of censorship, suggests that the Chinese government still views the narrative surrounding its handling of the disease as a politically sensitive issue.

Many Weibo users have complained about how the wave of infections has ruined the chances of a festive atmosphere on New Year’s Eve.

“This virus should just go away and die, I can’t believe this year I can’t even find a healthy friend who can hang out with me and celebrate the New Year,” one user wrote. in the eastern province of Shandong.

Others expressed hope that the New Year would herald China’s return to pre-pandemic life.

While health authorities cited a ‘weakening’ of the Omicron variant as the reason for abandoning the zero-COVID policy, the reopening began just days after China was rocked by the biggest show of public discontent. since Chinese President Xi Jinping took office in 2012.

Nationwide protests erupted in late November mostly calling for an end to zero-Covid curbs.

Chinese officials have not publicly acknowledged the protests.

In the first indication of the Chinese manufacturing giant’s balance sheet following the Covid policy shift, today’s data shows factory activity fell for the third consecutive month in December and at the fastest pace in almost three years.

China has massively reduced its reporting of national Covid-19 infection figures.

Cumulative infections in China likely reached 18.6 million in December, British health data firm Airfinity estimated on Thursday.

But some state media estimates suggest the number of infections is much higher. The infection rate in Sichuan province, which has more than 84 million people, is more than 64%, according to the state-run Health Times.

The infections have raised international concerns, particularly about the possibility of a new, stronger variant emerging from China.

Britain and France have become the latest countries to require travelers from China to provide negative Covid-19 tests.

The United States, South Korea, India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan have all imposed similar measures.

The World Health Organization said yesterday it had reiterated a request for Chinese health authorities to regularly share specific, real-time information about Covid-19 in the country, including more genetic sequencing data and figures. on hospitalizations and deaths.

China’s narrow criteria for identifying deaths caused by Covid-19 will underestimate the true toll of the pandemic and could make it harder to communicate the best ways people can protect themselves, health experts have warned.

Only deaths caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure after contracting Covid will be classified as having been caused by the coronavirus, a leading Chinese medical expert said last week.

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