This is the second in a nine-part series examining the issues Chinese leaders face as they gather for their annual “two sessions” of the National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference this week. Activists, Covid-19 survivors and scholars have called for an investigation into the handling of the outbreak ahead of the country’s biggest political gathering of the year. This year, efforts to control the coronavirus pandemic and repair the economic damage it caused will dominate discussions at the ‘two sessions’, but the leadership is unlikely to respond to calls for an inquiry. The annual session of the country’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, will begin on Friday – more than two months later than scheduled. Its political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Congress, meets a day earlier. Wuhan lab chiefs insist facility is secure as coronavirus claims circulate Over four million people have been infected and more than 310,000 have died worldwide from the disease, with growing numbers at home and abroad calling for an investigation into its origins and demanding that officials be held accountable. Yang Min, a 50-year-old Wuhan resident whose daughter died from the disease in early February, said in a post on the social media platform Weibo that there had been evidence of the deadly infection in early January, but officials had done nothing to warn citizens. The post in early April also called for an inquiry, but she said last week: “I have no expectations for the ‘two sessions’. My only wish is there will be an investigation and some people will take responsibility.” Meanwhile, activists who have accused the authorities of mishandling of the outbreak have found themselves in trouble. Zhang Xuezhong, a constitutional scholar, was taken away by police on Monday after writing an open letter to NPC delegates criticising the government and calling for freedom of expression. He was allowed to return home a day later. Meanwhile, an artist known only as Brother Nut who set up an online project inviting people to design a cemetery for victims of the disease was ordered to shut it down by police. The project, which started in mid-March received more than 40 entries, but when he began a vote to pick the winner the following month, police intervened. Coronavirus journal Wuhan Diary continues to upset Chinese nationalists Brother Nut said he wanted people to think about the “origins of the outbreak, the real death toll and how to remember the dead”. But he said he did not expect the government to agree to an investigation, and instead would try to highlight its success in fighting the disease. Observers said a speech by President Xi Jinping to non-party officials at Zhongnanhai on May 8 had set the tone. “The experience of fighting Covid-19 has demonstrated again the strong vitality and remarkable superiority of the Chinese system,” Xi said. “It can overcome any obstacles and make huge contributions to the progress of human civilisation.” Chen Daoyin, an independent political scientist, said discussions during the two sessions would be required to follow the themes laid out by President Xi. “The [government’s] consideration is not only about maintaining domestic political stability, but also not giving the international community an excuse [to blame China],” Chen said. Nevertheless, Brother Nut said: “If we can’t promote anything [at the two sessions] at least it’s important for us to record it.” The next story in the series will look at the expectations for Beijing’s policy on Hong Kong. All the stories in the series can be viewed at https://series.scmp.com/china-crossroads/
