Mainstream headlines are alight with stories about protests of unprecedented proportion that have erupted across China in response to Xi Jinping’s draconian Zero Covid lockdown policies. I post these with the caveat that, owing to both the unique restrictions on information from China and our media’s false pretense of hawkishness in order to retain the public’s trust, stories about protests and instability in China are perennially exaggerated.
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That there have been protests against the Chinese Communist Party’s lockdowns is not surprising, however, given how horrendous those policies have been. Exaggeration aside, during China’s lockdowns, most residents haven’t been allowed outside their homes even to get food. Meal deliveries are frequently inadequate and rotten and medical care is often inaccessible. Covid health status apps are strictly enforced. Those who test positive for Covid are taken to sparse, overcrowded quarantine camps resembling prisons. Infants are separated from their parents. Pets are killed.
Michael Senger
Author
Michael P. Senger is an attorney based in the United States and author of “Snake Oil: How Xi Jinping Shut Down the World.” He has been researching the influence of the Chinese Communist Party on the world’s response to COVID-19 since March 2020, and previously authored “China’s Global Lockdown Propaganda Campaign” and “The Masked Ball of Cowardice” in Tablet Magazine.
