China pledges crackdown on disrupters during Covid-19 infection surge

Beijing’s security chiefs warn of zero tolerance for anyone using the pandemic ‘to infiltrate, sabotage and disrupt social order’

The Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission also hailed zero-Covid policy and its recent abandonment as ‘totally correct’

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Relaxation of China’s zero-Covid restrictions followed rare protests on the streets of several cities in late November. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:30pm, 30 Dec 2022

The Communist Party’s top security officials have pledged to crack down on people who “used the pandemic” to infiltrate and “make rumours”, as China experiences a spike in Covid-19 infections after a U-turn of its three-year zero-Covid strategy.

“[We] must safeguard national security and social stability, and resolutely deal according to the law with behaviours that use the pandemic to infiltrate, sabotage, make rumours to start troubles and disrupt social order,” read a minute from Thursday’s meeting of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission.

According to state news agency Xinhua, officials – led by Chen Wenqing, a new member of the Politburo and the party’s top security chief – also hailed China’s policies of the past three years to prevent Covid-19 as “scientific, effective” and “totally correct”.

It was also “totally correct” to make the recent adjustments to the Covid-19 prevention policies, based on new developments, they said.

The Xinhua report said the minute went on to say that China’s security apparatus should also focus on “defending the people’s interests” regarding Covid-19 and try to solve their problems.

The commission oversees all security-related departments, including polices forces, prosecutors, judges, spying agencies and prison systems.