Published: Just now
Testimony of starvation, forced quarantine and a dwindling stockpile of medicine and other supplies has emerged from a city in China’s Xinjiang province, which has been under strict covid lockdown for over 40 days.
Footage showing empty fridges, feverish children and people screaming out their windows has started to emerge on social media from the city of Ghulja in western China.
The flaws revealed during the lockdown in the city, which has about half a million residents, are similar to those that have surfaced during other lockdowns in China, which still maintains its strict zero-covid policy where strict restrictions are imposed even when infection numbers are relatively low.
The closure in Ghulja also raises particular concerns about the city’s Uyghur population, whom China has accused in several international reports and investigations of subjecting to systematic human rights violations and brutal oppression.
Nyrola Elima, a Uighur from Ghulja, tells AP that her father is forced to share one tomato a day with his 93-year-old mother. Another relative of Elima has told us that she lacks milk to give to her two-year-old grandson.
At the same time, few dare to testify openly about the conditions. On Monday, local police announced that six people “spread rumours” about the shutdown.
However, the governor has apologized for “deficiencies and deficits”, and promised improvements.