Society

Security personnel guard an entrance to a residential area under lockdown due to Covid-19 restrictions in Beijing, China, on 26 November 2022. (Noel Celis/AFP)

Do not expect a U-turn of China's Covid policy

China’s Covid-19 strategy has constantly been in the process of tightening and easing restrictions, and the key challenges now will be addressing the rate of deaths and critical cases among the elderly, preventing a squeeze on medical resources and mitigating public doubts about Covid-19 control policies.
A pandemic prevention worker in a protective suit approaches an apartment in a building that went into lockdown as Covid-19 outbreaks continue in Beijing, China, 2 December 2022. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

The taste of freedom: How I feel emerging from lockdown in Beijing

Through the eyes of her cat Pudding, Beijinger Lorna Wei gives a snapshot of her daily life when her residential building went under lockdown last week.
This photo taken on 30 November 2022 shows people inside a subway train in Haizhu district, Guangzhou city, in China's Guangdong province, following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in the city. (CNS/AFP)

China is finally easing Covid rules, but not all are happy

The Chinese central government has not mentioned the “dynamic zero-Covid” policy as of late, sparking hopes that it will further ease Covid-19 control measures. With public anger boiling over in the form of protests in several cities, more signs of easing are needed. The path to reopening will not be smooth, but Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong notes that any form of progress towards normalcy would be reassuring for the Chinese people.
A medical worker in protective suit collects a swab from a resident at a free nucleic acid testing site following new cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Lanzhou's Chengguan district, Gansu province, China, 20 October 2021. (cnsphoto via Reuters)

Chinese Covid testing firms come under fire for pandemic profiteering

An incident involving errors with Covid test results at a test facility in Lanzhou has opened the doors to deeper digging by netizens, indicating a pattern of outbreaks wherever there are facilities established under the Shenzhen Nucleus Gene Technology Co. Coincidence, or something else?
People hold white sheets of paper in protest over Covid-19 restrictions after a vigil for the victims of a fire in Urumqi, as outbreaks of Covid-19 continue, in Beijing, China, 28 November 2022. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Covid protests: A repressed China needs an outlet to return to equilibrium

Chinese commentator Ma Haotian points out that when segments of the population feel the pain of China’s strict Covid controls, discontent boils over in search of an outlet. As China knows from its history, it is impossible to achieve outcomes that tick every box. It will have to learn to be flexible and accept trade-offs if the country and its people are to move forward from the yoke of zero-Covid.
Richard Liu Qiangdong, founder of JD.com. (JD.com website)

Salary cuts for senior managers: Is JD.com founder Richard Liu championing ‘common prosperity’?

JD.com founder Richard Liu has been in the news lately following an announcement that the company is set to improve social benefits for rank-and-file employees, while cutting salaries for senior management. While it seems to kill many birds with one stone, is this a long term solution for private firms?
A health worker takes a swab sample from a woman at a residential area under lockdown due to Covid-19 coronavirus restrictions in Beijing on 25 November 2022. (Noel Celis/AFP)

This has to be the end of lockdowns in China

While the rest of the world has moved on from strict Covid measures, China is continuing its dynamic zero-Covid policy and local governments are sticking to what they know best — lockdowns. But this mode of control is looking increasingly untenable on the back of increasing protests. Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan looks at how the CCP can respond.
A man pushes a woman in wheelchair past a poster with a graphic of medical workers at a nucleic acid testing booth in Beijing, China, 27 October 2022. (Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

China's young and old have opposing views on zero-Covid

China’s resurgence of Covid-19 infections has widened the gap between the young workers opposed to the tightening of controls, and the older generation that feel safer with strict measures in place. Given that the elderly make up a high proportion of the Chinese population, Chinese authorities seem to be holding fast to the dynamic-zero policy. Zaobao correspondent Wong Siew Fong tells us more.
People walk by a building decorated with an election campaign poster in Taipei, Taiwan, 14 November 2022. (Ann Wang/Reuters)

Taiwan’s local elections: Voter fatigue over thesis plagiarism tussle

Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han takes a closer look at voter fatigue in Taiwan in the upcoming “nine-in-one” elections, caused mostly by the arguing over plagiarism allegations, which might interest the highly educated but bore the average voter. Another question is whether the atmosphere at these elections will be a good indicator of things to come in the 2024 general election.