The National Health Commission, which acts as a ministry, is committed toyears and to continue to increase the vaccination rate for people aged 60 to 79years”,”text”:”accelerate the increase in the vaccination rate for people aged over 80 and continue to increase the vaccination rate for people aged 60 to 79″}}”>accelerate the increase in the vaccination rate of people aged over 80 and continue to increase the vaccination rate of people aged 60 to 79.
Only 65.8% of people over 80 are fully vaccinated, officials of this Commission said at a press conference, while Beijing has still not approved RNA vaccines, deemed more effective.
In China, the deployment of law enforcement in major cities has deterred protesters from gathering. The government is maintaining its zero COVID policy, but it is focusing on vaccination and relaxing its health measures. The story of Lise Villeneuve.
Photo : Getty Images / HECTOR RETAMAL
The insufficient rate of vaccination in China, particularly among the elderly, is one of the arguments put forward by the government to justify its strict health policy, with repeated confinements, quarantines on arrival from abroad and tests quasi daily for the population.
Remedying this could precisely offer China a way out of the zero covid
.
A man is arrested in Shanghai during a rally.
Photo : Getty Images / HECTOR RETAMAL
In effect for nearly three years, this policy has been the target of the demonstrations that took place this weekend in several cities, the most widespread protest movement since the pro-democracy mobilizations of 1989.
Also in the background, deep frustrations with the Chinese political system, as shown by the slogans chanted by the crowd, some demanding the resignation of President Xi Jinping and the departure of the ruling Communist Party.
London summons Chinese ambassador
China’s ambassador to the UK has been summoned to the Foreign Office after the arrest of a BBC journalist who was covering protests against the policy zero covid
in Shanghai, announced the head of British diplomacy. According to BBCits journalist Edward Lawrence was beaten and kicked
by police in Shanghai before being released.
The trigger: a fatal fire last week in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang region (Northwest). Health restrictions are accused of having prevented the work of the relief workers, arguments swept away by the government on Monday.
After a turbulent weekend in many cities across the country, several protests were planned for Monday evening, but they did not take place, journalists from theAFP in Beijing and Shanghai observing a strong police presence.
Demonstrators hold white sheets of paper to protest against health restrictions imposed by Chinese authorities.
Photo : Archyde.com / THOMAS PETER
In Shanghai, near where the crowds gathered on Sunday, bar workers in the area told theAFP being ordered to close at 10 p.m. due to a epidemic control
. Groups of agents stood near each subway exit.
On Monday, during the day, journalists from theAFP saw the arrest of four people, one of whom was later released.
The policy (zero COVID) is really too strict
told theAFP a young man of 17, who did not wish to give his name. It kills more people than COVID
he added, reflecting the weariness of a large part of the population.
Significant police presence
Monday in Beijing, the deployment of police by car and on foot, with the help of a network of surveillance cameras, but also the ambient cold, also discouraged any new gathering.
Some have managed to come together, however, notably in Hong Kong – rocked in 2019 by pro-democracy demonstrations – where dozens of people paid tribute, at the Chinese University, to the victims of the fire in Urumqi, noted I’AFP.
Don’t look away, don’t forget!
they chanted.
And in Hangzhou, a city 170 kilometers southwest of Shanghai, security forces were also visible as small protests broke out, according to images circulating on social media, some of which were geotagged by theAFP.
It was really messy
testified at theAFP a participant, who assured that 10 people had been arrested. There was a lot of police presence, it was chaos
.
Police officers block Wulumuqi Street, which is named for Urumqi in Mandarin, in Shanghai on November 27, 2022, in the area where protests against China’s “zero COVID” policy took place the day before, after a deadly fire in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region.
Photo : Getty Images / HECTOR RETAMAL
The authorities’ strict control over information and health restrictions on travel within the country make it difficult to verify the total number of demonstrators over the weekend.
But such a widespread uprising is extremely rare in China, given the crackdown on any form of opposition to the government. It immediately caught the attention of the international community.
US President Joe Biden said stand informed of what is happening
of close
.
In the United States, the Chinese and Uyghur (from the Xinjiang region) communities have held vigils in honor of the victims of the excesses of the zero COVID policy.
Authorities use COVID as excuse, but use strict lockdowns to control Chinese population
commented atAFP a 21-year-old Chinese participant, who only gave her last name, Chen.
If Beijing maintains its strict anti-COVID policy for the moment, some gestures of relaxation have appeared in recent days.
In Urumqi, as of Tuesday, residents could once again travel by bus to do their shopping, after weeks of confinement in this city of 4 million inhabitants.
The city of Beijing has banned the practice of blocking building doors in gated residential complexes
indicated the New China agency, a process which fueled popular anger.
An influential state media commentator hinted that controls could soon be eased following the protests.
China could emerge from the shadow of COVID-19 sooner than expected
assured Hu Xijin, columnist and former editor of the nationalist tabloid Global Timesvia Twitter, a banned platform in China.