China’s ‘Zero Covid’ Pursuit Causes Mayhem Ahead of Party Conclave
On Tuesday, Xinjiang effectively banned residents and visitors from leaving, stopping all trains and buses from departing the region and stopping most flights. But such lockdowns could lead to more problems. Last month, residents in Yining, a city in Xinjiang, flooded social media platforms to plead for food and other provisions, including sanitary pads and medicine, during a long lockdown. Shortage of daily necessities, as well as the chaotic enforcement of attempts to curb the outbreak, had already forced local officials to admit failings.
Similar problems in other areas, most notably in Shanghai earlier this year and in Tibet a few weeks ago, have led to anger about the human and economic toll of the harsh measures.
In the southwest province of Yunnan, angry travelers took to the Chinese social media site Weibo to vent their anger over being stranded at the Xishuangbanna airport after flights were canceled on short notice. On Tuesday, the Xishuangbanna prefecture’s health authorities tightened restrictions, effectively preventing most people from leaving.
Some videos shared online showed what appeared to be guards or police officers clad in white hazmat suits carrying guns and riot shields at the airport. The weapons set off confrontations, leading to exasperated tourists shouting: “Who are you pointing the guns at?” The New York Times has not been able to independently verify the videos, which have mostly been censored on Chinese social media but continued to circulate widely on Twitter. Multiple calls to the airport rang unanswered on Friday.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/07/world/asia/covid-china-lockdowns-chaos.html