Chinese Protests Against COVID Restrictions
Chinese Protests Against COVID Restrictions: According to Iran Gate, in the first part of our narrative about what underlies the recent events in China and the public protests in this country, we discussed specific aspects of the topic and the concept of protest in China, as well as the key foundations of social structures that shape the current situation of these protests.
We mentioned that now, considering what has happened in China in recent months, there are specific policies that have sparked public anger. This time, these policies are crafted by the ruling Communist Party leadership. These specific issues make the current Chinese-style protests different from previous ones.
By the Emperor’s Order, You Should Not Get Sick
Chinese policy-making and policy implementation within the framework of the Communist Party’s management in China are intertwined with numerous concepts and topics. Specifically, the era of Xi Jinping’s undisputed leadership in the country marks a new period of redefining foundational concepts and topics of party politics and ideology. This redefinition of concepts can be traced back to the early years of Xi Jinping’s rise to power, when he introduced his unique concepts to create a new era in the history of the Chinese Communist Party, incorporating them into Chinese political discourse and the policy-making and execution process.
Specifically, the Chinese leader introduced new concepts regarding economic justice and, on the international stage, focused on creating new grounds for development-oriented Chinese investment in less developed countries. The specific framework of Chinese policies based on Mr. Xi’s political discourse was gradually established by his administration, so that by the time the major periodic party congress began this year, the stage was set for unveiling Xi Jinping’s thoughts. This special title, which is emblazoned on party booklets, is not merely formal or ceremonial.
The thoughts of the great leader are a special concept that all of Mao’s successors wished to have unveiled in their name in party literature, but they never reached the elevated status and dominance necessary for it. Xi Jinping has reached such dominance that he is now considered the leader and theorist guiding the path of the Communist Party and China. Chinese political experts refer to him as the Emperor of China.
With such dominance, during the time when the COVID crisis shook the world in 2019 and 2020, this crisis, which originated from Xi Jinping’s country, was the greatest threat to the domestic and international position of the Communist Party and its leader. The first sign of the COVID crisis was the announcement of a complete lockdown of Wuhan and the quarantine of this area.
Images of cars fleeing Wuhan, naturally carrying the virus to other areas, were the first scenes reported by international journalists about the unfolding COVID crisis. In parallel with the fluctuating policies of European countries and the United States, China devised its own specific plan for citizen quarantine, basing its policy on maximum control of the spread and mortality, relying on statistical manipulation.
These policies naturally targeted controlling citizens and maintaining the party’s and its leader’s image by engineering statistics. While a significant part of European countries and many regions in the United States experienced complete city lockdowns and closures, the scenes of the Chinese version of quarantine and bitter closure were terrifying and yet not very alarming.
However, as the years 2021 and 2022 progressed, with the growth of vaccination and increased public immunity, various countries around the world, which had been under lockdown and closures, began to reopen their economies and societies. China and its leader did not unlock. The Emperor’s order was clear: the death toll, which was relatively acceptable and noteworthy compared to the US and Europe, had to remain low. The testing, control, and regional quarantine structure became so severe that its impact quickly manifested with each escalation of restrictions.
The world grew weary of Xi Jinping
It is hard to imagine that if Vladimir Putin and his army had not invaded Ukraine, Xi Jinping and his policies would not now be recognized as the most significant factor in igniting the international economy and livelihood. What the so-called Zero COVID policy did to the production and distribution cycle in China, and naturally in the world, is one of the strangest economic, industrial, and commercial interactions of recent decades.
For consecutive months, one of the biggest crises was the ships waiting in the waters around China, unable to dock for loading or unloading. The production of many goods and their distribution in international markets were severely affected by the extensive closures in China. While in 2022, the world gradually finalized the reopening of society and the economy, and many returned to normal or at least relatively normal life and work, China continued to emphasize the ongoing crises with its Zero COVID policy.
Adjustments in COVID policies and extensive quarantines with relative fluctuations were pursued as a strategy and beyond that, as a central policy in China.
It was under these conditions that the summer of the closing year witnessed other crises as well. Extreme heat in various parts of China led to a decline in the electricity production cycle and affected factories and production. This was while very important economic areas of China, such as Shanghai, experienced new quarantines, and new troubles arose for large companies that had concentrated their production in China.
Vaccines are available, but the good ones aren’t; stay home
One of the main foundations of the Chinese people’s troubles in the cage of quarantine and the chains of Xi Jinping’s COVID policies was the inefficacy of Chinese vaccines in combating the increasingly diverse and growing types of the COVID virus. The Zero COVID policy and insistence on quarantine and multiple, repeated testing indirectly suggested that the widespread vaccination of people in China with their domestically produced vaccines had little benefit.
Specifically, it should be noted that the approach of European and American countries towards Chinese officials clearly showed this point. Many diplomatic interactions and routine travels, which had become common among countries after the end of the COVID crisis, took place in the absence of Chinese officials. It was clearly evident that the Chinese were not considered immune. The esteemed leader of China was also not seen without a mask, and wherever he went with his wife, it was clear that he was concerned about contracting COVID.
Thus, the main solution for curbing the spread and presenting impressive statistics was quarantine and testing. Quarantines that suddenly completely closed off an area, and this policy has continued to this day. The narrative of Western journalists about the changing spirit and approach of the Chinese towards the Zero COVID policy and the prevailing situation in their country is noteworthy. For many months in the first half of last year, the Chinese people were relatively satisfied with the apparent results and statistics presented regarding the impacts of the Zero COVID policy. Their country had managed to stand up to the West, and its death and infection rates were lower than those of the enemies of their leader’s great ideals. Gradually, the situation changed.
The Olympics were held, festivals and celebrations in various countries took place, factories and different businesses in East Asia, the Middle East, and Europe flourished, while the Chinese were stuck at home. This is how Xi Jinping’s Zero COVID policy tightened the grip on those imprisoned in their homes, and whispers of discontent began. November of this year witnessed the formation of the main wave of discontent. Employees and workers in the most important industrial areas were suddenly quarantined, and the most important factory of Apple in the world was suddenly shut down.
Workers and employees clashed with security forces. After that, another incident brought the situation to a peak of severity. A fire in an urban area claimed the lives of several people, and one of the main factors in the victims’ predicament was the quarantine rules and locks that made escape and rescue difficult. Protests intensified, and various cities became scenes of the anger of Chinese people who just wanted to be freed from these COVID shackles and be allowed to leave.
In early December, following public protests, Xi Jinping apparently began to ease some of the heavy rules and protocols. He takes pride in his Zero COVID policy and not only did not relent but also promoted one of the main executives of this policy within the core leadership of the Communist Party and China. There is a special value inherent in this Zero COVID policy and maximum social control that must be examined based on citizen control policies to understand the significance of COVID as a pretext for controlling citizens in China.
In the next section of the report, we will examine the Zero COVID policy as a main and central program and policy of the Communist Party, and we will see that in reality, it is citizen control that is the main basis for implementing such policies. The Chinese citizen control program, which has also been exported to many countries.
