A confrontation between locals and law enforcement officers implementing Covid-19 quarantine rules resulted in seven persons being jailed, according to police in northeastern China.
China is experiencing an increase in incidences of violence, with 2,230 occurrences in Guangzhou, a centre of manufacturing and technology in the south, being reported on Tuesday.
China has steadfastly adhered to its tight “zero-Covid” policy of quarantines, lockdowns, and daily or nearly daily mandatory testing even if the numbers are still relatively low.
According to a news release from the Linyi police station in Shandong, public safety would take severe action against anyone who “illegally infringed the legal rights of citizens’ personal protection.”
Anti-pandemic efforts have sparked protests across the nation, creating an unusual challenge to Communist Party dominance. Who was detained following the altercation was not immediately known? On Tuesday morning, news of the arrests appeared on social media, but it was taken down by the nation’s censors before noon.
Zero-Covid has been a defining characteristic of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s administration, which gained momentum last month as he was granted a third five-year term in office and elevated supporters to high posts.
One of them is the former party chief of Shanghai, where a brutal two-month lockdown earlier this year caused food shortages, clashes with the police, and serious delays to supply lines throughout the world that has become increasingly dependent on Chinese manufacturing and shipping.
China has only made very small, cautious moves while the rest of the world has largely opened up. Its borders are still largely closed, and officials are under intense pressure to enact restrictions.
Markets were shaken by rumours of a potential relaxation of “zero-Covid,” but the government has kept its plans, including the potential importation of foreign vaccines, a closely-guarded secret.
Following a spike in illnesses in Zhengzhou and the departure of employees from the factory, the entrance to the industrial area where an Apple iPhone production is located was shut off for one week last week. To avoid being kept in quarantine centres, where food, cleanliness, and privacy standards have been harshly condemned, several people hopped fences and strolled alongside roadways.
The Foxconn facility in Zhengzhou, a city in central China, is “working at significantly reduced capacity,” according to Apple’s announcement made on Sunday, which means customers will have to wait longer to receive the company’s most recent iPhone models.
