Chinese state media tries to rally support for zero-Covid as discontent grows over lockdowns

Name: Shanghai locks down western bank of Huangpu River as Covid fight continues in China’s biggest city
Uploaded: 2022-04-01T22:00:30.000Z
Duration: 3 min 32 s
Description: Shanghai locks down western bank of Huangpu River as Covid fight continues in China’s biggest city

Communist Party mouthpiece sends the message that even as cases are rising the strategy – part of Xi Jinping’s political legacy – is still China’s best option

It follows economist Paul Krugman’s remarks that the response has gone wrong due to the weakness of autocratic government, ‘like Putin’s failures in Ukraine’

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Workers in a neighbourhood under lockdown in Shanghai. There is growing discontent over the response to the latest wave of infections. Photo: Bloomberg

William Zheng

Published: 6:00am, 2 Apr 2022Updated: 7:09am, 2 Apr 2022

Chinese state media has sought to defend Beijing’s zero-Covid strategy – which has become a part of Xi Jinping’s political legacy – using the president’s “persistence is victory” phrase to encourage people to stay the course.

Authorities are under pressure over the tough policy as China battles its worst wave of infections since Wuhan in 2020, driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, with millions of people in lockdown while much of the rest of the world is reopening.

Health officials on Friday said more than 100,000 locally transmitted cases were reported in mainland China in March.

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Shanghai locks down western bank of Huangpu River as Covid fight continues in China’s biggest city

Hong Kong has meanwhile been grappling with its worst outbreak of the pandemic, with more than 7,700 deaths so far – most of them unvaccinated elderly people – and the health system overwhelmed. Mainland officials have pointed to the city as a warning of what could happen as they urge older people to get the jab.

State news agency Xinhua on Thursday published a commentary saying the country must press on with what Beijing calls “dynamic zero-Covid” – a policy that aims to eliminate local cases and prevent the virus from spreading. It sought to rally public support but also called for adjustments to the policy to minimise disruption.

It followed another editorial published by the Communist Party mouthpiece on Monday highlighting Xi’s leadership in China’s fight against the virus, praising his vision and efforts to protect lives.

Both were carried by most state media outlets, and the message in both was that even as cases are rising the zero-Covid strategy is still China’s best option.

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