Wuhan

People release balloons as they gather to celebrate New Year's Eve, amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, 1 January 2023. (Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

Unease amid celebration: New year, old Covid worries in China

With the easing of Covid measures in China, many cities saw the return of New Year countdown celebrations, with major crowds congregating in droves. While the mood is upbeat, worries remain. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk looks at the people’s hopes for 2023.
Renowned virologist Guan Yi. (Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine official website)

A Chinese virologist's changing fortunes for speaking up against zero-Covid

China's renowned virologist Guan Yi has reappeared in public as the newly appointed chief of the Shanghai Virus Research Institute, after being denounced for his alarmist views of the pandemic at the start of its outbreak and speaking against the zero-Covid measures. But now, will his return mark an end to the harsh restrictions that have left the Chinese economy in a dire state?
People have their dinner at a restaurant as a screen broadcasts Chinese President Xi Jinping delivering his New Year speech in Beijing, China, on 31 December 2021. (Jade Gao/AFP)

Can Xi Jinping ride the tiger year with success?

A Chinese idiom says: If you ride a tiger, it’s hard to get off! Since being handed the reins by the Communist Party of China a decade ago, Xi Jinping hasn’t experienced “the year of the tiger” according to the Chinese zodiac. He will be riding into the tiger year this crucial year of 2022. Speculations are running high in China as everyone is asking: does Xi know how to get off a tiger?
A worker delivers food supplies to residents at a residential compound under lockdown in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China, 29 December 2021. (CNS photo via Reuters)

Chaos in Xi’an: From zero-Covid to ‘zero cases in communities’

In the face of greater challenges in containing Covid-19, China seems to have tweaked its zero-Covid strategy in Xi’an to that of “zero cases in communities”. Even so, the situation since a lockdown started on 23 December 2021 seems chaotic. What else needs to change as authorities tailor their approach to different cities and situations? Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu examines the issue.
A woman crossing a street passes by a wall art depicting Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi during a government-imposed lockdown to prevent the Covid-19 coronavirus from spreading in Noida, India on 21 May 2021. (Jewel Samad/AFP)

Indian researcher on the pandemic: It's a tragedy but India will continue to do its part

Amrita Jash considers the impact of a devastating second wave of Covid-19 on India’s foreign policy and its relationships with the region and the world. She observes that India will continue to take a collective approach to fighting the pandemic as it guards its flanks vis-à-vis China and Pakistan and builds closer ties with the US and fellow members of the Quad.
In this file photo taken on 25 January 2020, medical staff members wearing protective clothing to help stop the spread of a deadly virus which began in the city arrive with a patient at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan. (Hector Retamal/AFP)

The world may never know the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic

A Joint WHO-China Study Team report has said that it is "extremely unlikely" that a Wuhan laboratory leak was the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet the US and other countries have cast doubts on the report, citing delay and access issues. China hit back, labelling this as another smear campaign. With each side singing their own tune, are the report results of any consequence?
In this picture taken on 15 January 2021, a picture of Chinese President Xi Jinping with a face mask is displayed as people visit an exhibition about China’s fight against the Covid-19 coronavirus at a convention centre that was previously used as a makeshift hospital for patients in Wuhan. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP)

Chinese academic: Why China's 'harsh' counter-pandemic measures are valid

Putting ideology and biases aside, there was no unlawful coercion in China’s Covid-19 measures and no ethical redlines were breached, says Deng Xize. Based on contract theory, people give up some of their rights in exchange for benefits. It is thus expected that people would accept strict measures under the threat of the pandemic. In fact, most of the Chinese population adhered to the measures, with some going overboard in certain cases.
People practise social distancing as they line up for a second round of citywide nucleic acid testing at a residential compound, following new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, China, 12 January 2021. (China Daily via Reuters)

Chinese local governments are declaring a 'state of war' to fight the pandemic. Is this necessary?

Yu Zeyuan observes that local governments in China are racing to implement ever-tighter coronavirus measures in the face of an uptick in cases recently. Is this an overreaction and all too much of a show to demonstrate responsibility and preparedness at the citizens’ expense?
A woman wearing a face mask takes a picture of a display at a Christmas market in a shopping mall following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beijing, 16 December 2020. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

China set to overtake US economy sooner than expected, but it is worried

China has received favourable assessments from several quarters recently, from its handling of the pandemic to the way its economy is set to surpass the US’s earlier than planned. However, instead of revelling in such praise, China is keeping a relatively low profile. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu looks at why China is playing it cautious.