China has no intention of easing the dystopian coronavirus lockdowns
Il Communist Party of China reiterates that the zero Covid strategy cannot be touched. The meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee in recent days ended with a very clear message: "Persistence is victory". According to the Party management, therefore, "practice has shown that our policy of prevention and control is determined by the nature and purpose of the Party, our policies of prevention and control can withstand the test of history, and our measures of prevention and control are scientific and effective. We have won the battle to defend Wuhan, and we will certainly be able to win the battle to defend Shangha i. " That's right. According to the Chinese government, the battle for Shanghai will be won, or at least as such it will be presented when the restrictions are eased: as a victory. Relaxation of restrictions which, according to the latest rumors, will not happen before the end of May. More than two months after the start of the dystopian lockdown that led the citizens of the Chinese metropolis to protest.
The discontent surrounding the zero Covid strategy by Xi Jinping As underlined by Bill Bishop, it is striking that there was no mention of the need to balance anti Covid prevention and economic objectives. According to the authorities, to face this moment of crisis it is necessary to "unconditionally adhere to the zero-Covid policy", a strategy dictated by political and rhetorical needs, all functional to making Xi Jinping the victorious general in the war against the coronavirus demon. The harshness of the statement suggests that there was a need, or at least the Party perceived the need, to reaffirm Xi's line. A sign that perhaps the voices to be kept under control come not only from the common population but also from within the system, in which the anger of the citizens of Shanghai may have branched out significantly.
Discontent has emerged from various quarters in recent weeks. Several economists have been censored, with posts blacked out and sudden resignations. And here is the (in) direct response of the Politburo to these discontent: "We should have a deep, complete and comprehensive understanding of the epidemic prevention and control policies established by the Central Party Committee, resolutely overcome the problems of inadequate understanding, inadequate preparation and inadequate work, resolutely overcome the ideas of contempt, indifference and presumption, always keep a clear mind, adhere unshakably to the general policy of the zero-Covid dynamic, and resolutely oppose all distortions, doubts and denials ".
And pay attention to the ending: "We will fight resolutely against all words and facts that distort, doubt and deny our epidemic prevention policies".
The warning to those who fail with the slogan by Mao A very clear warning, useful to reiterate the fact that going against the zero Covid strategy means going against Xi, therefore against the Party and therefore against China. Perhaps also addressed Hu Xijin, the former director of the Global Times and super hawk who shortly before the Politburo had instead given up as lost a battle that the Standing Committee has declared will be won: "Shanghai has fallen". And again: "Beijing must find cheaper ways to deal with its epidemic or to tell the whole Chinese society the truth". And that is, the disruptive consequences cannot be avoided. "The first choice requires wisdom, the second choice," Hu wrote before the post was removed. Given its connections within the political world, it could be the trace that something actually moved or is moving and that Xi and the Politburo felt the need to block it.
And to do so, no one was chosen. any sentence. As pointed out by China Media Project, "persistence is victory" is a formula already used in the years of the confrontation between the Communist Party and Guomindang, before the Second World War and before Mao Zedong's victory in the civil war. Then also resumed during the Cultural Revolution when the goal was to reinvigorate the revolutionary sentiment. Rarely used during the reform era ushered in by Deng Xiaoping and continued by Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, it now makes a comeback in a big way. And it is not the first time. Also in recent months in several articles of the People's Daily he made his appearance. The goal is to reinvigorate not so much the revolutionary spirit as joining the line of Xi, the new helmsman who is navigating more stormy waters than expected on the way to the 20th Congress.
