[Beijing Diary] Chinese People Starting to Demand 'Evidence'

Videos showing people protesting by demanding the basis for lockdowns or refusing quarantine are rapidly increasing and being posted everywhere on social networking services (SNS) within China. (Photo source = Weibo and other local SNS)

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] "As of 12 o'clock, the area is downgraded to low-risk, and the lockdown is lifted."

Due to consecutive confirmed COVID-19 cases in residential areas within Beijing, the apartment lockdown that lasted for 11 days ended. Residents briefly tasted freedom by taking a walk around a nearby lake and choosing their own food, but that freedom ended there. Most restaurants, large shopping malls, and tourist attractions in downtown Beijing are closed, leaving nowhere to go. All scheduled appointments and reporting plans have been indefinitely canceled.

According to the National Health Commission of China, on the 26th, the number of new COVID-19 cases in China reached 39,506 (including 35,858 asymptomatic cases), marking an all-time high. After breaking the previous record set in April this year on the 23rd of this month, the record has been broken for four consecutive days. Confirmed cases are surging nationwide, with Guangdong Province at 9,091, Chongqing City at 8,861, Beijing City at 4,307, Sichuan Province at 1,629, Hebei Province at 1,624, and Shanxi Province at 1,230.

As of the same day, there are 2,053 high-risk areas in Beijing city, which means lockdowns. Approximately 2,000 buildings are closed and access is controlled. Even a single confirmed case in an apartment leads to a lockdown decision. Although this is a relaxation compared to the past when entire apartment complexes were closed, neighbors living above and below must still be sent to quarantine facilities because they share the same plumbing. There is no clear standard on how many floors must be sent to quarantine facilities.

Beijing has quickly turned into a ghost city, where normal life is already impossible regardless of whether one’s residence is locked down. In this situation, government policies to stimulate consumption and revive the economy, such as lowering bank reserve requirements or encouraging more aggressive lending, seem completely illogical.

Chinese citizens are gradually growing angry at these obviously unreasonable and abnormal lockdowns. On the 26th, when the Residents’ Committee (Shequ·社區), an administrative unit below the district level in China, decided to lock down an apartment in Wangjing, Beijing, residents protested outside their homes rejecting the lockdown. When residents questioned the rights and grounds for locking down the complex, the Shequ called the police. The police judged that the Shequ had no legal basis to decide the lockdown, and the small protest ended as a victory for the residents.

Videos of similar situations are rapidly spreading on local social media platforms. In one video, a Chinese citizen ordered by the Dabai (大白, quarantine workers) wearing protective suits with "Police" stickers to move to a centralized quarantine facility protests, saying, "Show me your name and affiliation and bring documents specifying the reason for the lockdown." The man shouts, "A confirmed case was found on the 18th floor, I live on the 20th floor, and I have tested negative on nucleic acid tests for several days. Why should I be quarantined? I don’t know who you are or where you are taking me, so I will never follow you." His protest seems irrefutable.

Other videos show armed Dabai with shotguns creating a tense atmosphere next to long queues waiting for PCR tests, and footage of endless temporary container quarantine facilities. The fire accident in Urumqi, Xinjiang, on the 24th, which resulted in 10 deaths, has further worsened public opinion.

Chinese people, having experienced speaking out about problems, actively protesting, and seeing corrections made, will now demand "grounds" for any further irrationalities. What is clear is that the more sincerely Chinese society and related authorities examine these grounds, the faster the crisis China has faced since COVID-19 will enter a resolution phase.