<
https://theconversation.com/yes-the-chinese-protests-are-about-politics-and-freedom-but-they-are-also-about-what-covid-might-do-if-it-is-let-loose-now-195553>
"While a lot of attention has been given to the unprecedented protests in China
about the “dynamic zero COVID” policy, not much has been written about the
wider political context, and particularly the young people leading the
protests.
These young protesters have proven to be agile, and appear to be always a
couple of steps ahead of the authorities, who are desperate to keep a lid on
any uprising. They particularly do not want the wider world to know the extent
of the protests.
There have been reports that at the heart of the protests is a call for greater
political freedom, and these young people are using the zero-COVID policy as
the platform to seek more openness. This should not come as a surprise to
anyone keeping an eye on China since the pandemic measures were first
introduced in 2020.
President Xi Jinping has made zero-COVID one of his signature programs, along
with the “China Dream”, and used it to get a precedent-breaking third term at
the five-yearly Communist Party congress in October. All opposition was
crushed, and nothing was allowed to derail his ascendency.
Now that Xi has cemented his status as the most powerful Chinese leader since
Mao, why wouldn’t he relax the zero-COVID policy in line with the rest of the
world?
The easy answer would be that he would lose too much “face” if he were to back
down. I would suggest Xi is actually more worried that a relaxed policy will
lead to more deaths among the elderly."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
