As I see itBeijing would be wise to learn from the outcry over misuse of Covid-19 health codes
- Victims of alleged financial scam accused officials of manipulating the app by turning their codes red when they went to Zhengzhou to protest
- It could further dent public confidence in the government’s pandemic controls, as well as in its sincerity to protect the bank depositors
The Covid-19 health app has become part of life across mainland China. Movement is restricted according to a person’s risk level, indicated by a green, yellow or red code.
It could not have come at a worse time. Since the Shanghai lockdown, many have begun to question whether China’s draconian zero-Covid measures are still justified, particularly given the milder symptoms of the Omicron variant.
Of the 33,000 people infected in Shanghai’s recent outbreak, none of the low-risk patients had severe symptoms, and only 0.065 per cent of the high-risk group were seriously ill, according to a study led by infectious disease expert Zhang Wenhong.
But it also comes as Beijing is trying to reassure the public over the situation in Henan, where depositors say they have been unable to access their money – potentially tens of billions of yuan – in four rural banks in what is a suspected financial scam. Investigations have been launched and arrests made, and the government has vowed to step up supervision of small lenders.
Claims that some of these depositors had their health codes manipulated to stop them from protesting could further dent public confidence in the government’s pandemic controls, as well as in its sincerity to protect them.