12 September 2022, 09:52 GMT
Residents crowded to buy vegetables in Chengdu amid imposition of closures
People across China are complaining of a shortage of food and basic materials, as a result of the closure measures to confront the Corona virus.
Tens of millions of residents in 30 regions were directed to stay in their homes, in implementation of partial or complete closure measures.
A resident in western Xinjiang said, “It has been 15 days and we have no flour, no rice, no eggs. Days ago, we no longer had milk for the babies.”
The Chinese authorities are seeking to contain the outbreak of the epidemic, before the date of the Chinese Communist Party Congress in October.
China’s zero-Covid policy requires strict closures, even if a small number of infections are reported.
On Monday, China recorded 949 new infections nationwide.
In this context, the policy of the authorities has caused rare public opposition among the citizens. The authorities were accused of stifling economic growth.
The weeks-long closure prompted residents of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Region on the border with Kazakhstan to seek help via social media.
In a video clip, a Uyghur man appeared overwhelmed with emotion, saying that his “three children had not eaten for three days.”
In the city of Yining, a document was widely published on the Internet, containing more than 300 urgent requests for food, medicine and sanitary napkins.
One complained, “I don’t have money to buy supplies. My wife is pregnant and we have two sons. We don’t have gas anymore. My wife needs a medical exam.”
A mixture of Han Chinese, Kazakhs and Uyghurs live in the area.
A long-awaited United Nations report released earlier this month accused China of committing “serious human rights abuses” once morest Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Shenyang.
Rights groups have reported that more than a million Uighurs have been detained once morest their will. Authorities say their network of camps is a way to fight terrorism.
And the authorities imposed the closure in the capital of the southwestern province of Guizhou, without warning. As a result, 500,000 residents were cut off from their homes, with no opportunity to prepare.
The elevators in the buildings were stopped to prevent people from leaving, the Guardian reported.
The newspaper quoted a Weibo user as saying: “We can’t buy things online because they don’t deliver, and the stores are closed. Does the government treat us like animals, or do they just want us dead?”
The closure measures affect Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, the largest city following Shanghai, which suffered from restrictions that lasted for two months at the beginning of the year.
Its population of 21 million people has been barred from entering or leaving the city, with only residents who test negative for the virus allowed out to buy necessities.
This comes following a heat wave affected the area and an earthquake occurred at the beginning of the year, when residents were seen trying to evacuate their homes, while exits were closed.
City officials said they plan to lift restrictions in five areas of the city, starting Monday.
The extension of the various lockdown measures comes ahead of the National Party conference in mid-October. The event, which takes place once every five years, will be attended by senior political members for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Party officials are under great pressure to ensure that the conference takes place without problems. Even a small number of injuries are considered a threat.
On Monday, Chinese media said that “a small number of injuries were recorded at universities in Beijing, with students returning from other provinces.”
China is trying to completely eliminate the spread of the Covid virus, claiming that this is necessary to avoid many infections that may put pressure on hospitals.
According to Johns Hopkins University, China has officially recorded fewer than 15,000 deaths since the outbreak of the virus.
