Demonstrations took place in many cities in China, again this Saturday, November 26, and this, even in the Chinese capital. Protest against sanitary measures deemed too strict. Residents are calling for the reopening of confined residences.
With our correspondent in Beijing, Stephane Lagarde
These are the same images each time shared on social networks, whether in Tianjin, in the east of the country, in Chongqing in the south, or in the Changping district this Saturday in Beijing.
Angry residents come out of their homes and attack the ” iron sheets », the blue metal palisades that surround the confined towers.
Others more calmly try to negotiate an exit with their neighborhood committee. Like this future mother, 29, who explains to us that she is very annoyed with confinement, because she is soon to give birth.
We don’t have any cases of Covid in the residence, so why do we have to stay at home? We must respect our rights. This lockdown is unreasonable. The hospital asks me for three negative Covid tests over three days. I was told that we could do a PCR in the residence today, and this is not the case!
Discussion again in this residence in the Huilongguan district, a community of a thousand inhabitants, including this forty-year-old who would like to understand the reason for his confinement, according to him not in conformity with the adjustments of the health policy advertisement two weeks ago.
We are in a low risk area, so we should be able to enter and exit normally. They tell us that there is only one positive person in a tube of ten samples, but it is not known who exactly, in which building, so there is no reason for the whole housing estate to be classified high risk.
Faced with the Covid discontent, Beijing announced this Saturday 9 “prohibitions” aimed at preventing, for example, the confinement of people in low-risk areas. Result: many confined people blew up the barriers or tried to negotiate their exit. ?https://t.co/yqPzvonire pic.twitter.com/N4ur3MCRX7
— Stephane Lagarde (@StephaneLagarde) November 26, 2022
Faced with the confusion and growing discontent, the Council of State again rolled out nine measures, nine “prohibitions”, including the arbitrary extension of the scope of health restrictions, or the fact of forcing people in areas with low risk of self-isolation, with a telephone number to file a complaint.
Announcements at the national level which, according to the inhabitants, are not always respected at the local and micro-local level.
►Read again: Covid-19 in China: demonstrations in Urumqi for the lifting of containment