China Briefing | Xian’s Covid-19 chaos exposes dark side of China’s top-down governing approach

Name: Chinese Woman loses baby outside hospital over strict Covid rules
Uploaded: 2022-01-15T01:30:14.000Z
Duration: 1 min 49 s
Description: Chinese Woman loses baby outside hospital over strict Covid rules

A woman who suffered a miscarriage and other stories of anguish in locked-down Xian have reminded many of the early days of Wuhan’s lockdown in 2020

The dysfunction is a reflection of the Communist Party’s increasing demands for absolute loyalty from its 90 million-plus members, who are expected to carry out instructions to the letter

Reading Time:4 minutes

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A resident undergoes a Covid-19 test in Xian. Photo: AFP

Wang Xiangwei

Published: 9:30am, 15 Jan 2022

Almost two years ago, the Chinese government locked down Wuhan, a metropolis of 11 million people where the first cases of Covid-19 were reported, after an initial period of mishandling and cover-up by the local officials.

The unprecedented 76-day lockdown from January 23 to April 8, 2020, played a pivotal role in the government’s relentless campaign to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control in the country, making China the world’s only major economy to report growth that year.

Since then, China’s ability to control the spread of the virus has become increasingly sophisticated and targeted, with a range of measures including mass testing, quarantines, restricted travel, border closures and snap lockdowns, aided by a national electronic health database and a pervasive public surveillance system for contact-tracing. In addition, about 90 per cent of the country’s 1.4 billion people have been vaccinated with at least two jabs.

A health worker collects a swab sample from a Xian resident on January 2, 2022. Photo: Xinhua via AP

China’s earlier success at containing the pandemic prompted Beijing to extol its authoritarian style of leadership, which it said had saved lives, as compared with Western democracies, which have struggled with soaring cases and death tolls.

So when cases spiked and the Chinese authorities on December 23 decided to lock down Xian, the capital city of Shaanxi province – marking the second time a metropolis of more than 10 million people came under a complete lockdown – one would have thought officials had learnt enough lessons and made sufficient preparations to minimise any disruptions.

Instead, stories of anguish and dysfunction from Xian have emerged, triggering disbelief and shock across the country, with many reminded of the chaotic early days of the lockdown in Wuhan.

01:49

Chinese Woman loses baby outside hospital over strict Covid rules

In one of the most harrowing tales, an eight-month pregnant woman suffered a miscarriage after being made to wait for hours in the bitter cold on New Year’s Day, because a hospital had demanded she produce a negative Covid-19 test.

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