BEIJING: China on Thursday issued a forceful defense of the steps it has taken to prepare for a change in strategy, accusing "some Western media" of bias, smear and political manipulation in China's own strict "zero-covid-19". alleged the abrupt ending of. " Policy.
A sharp rise in cases following a decision in December to end mass testing and quarantine has left some hospitals and crematoriums crowded with victims.
The People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party, published an editorial in which it outlined China's "containment and control measures" and condemned news from sources it called "completely biased propaganda, stigmatization and with ulterior motives". political manipulation".
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Life has returned to normal in most of China since the initial wave of new cases, but officials have expressed concern about the virus spreading to rural areas during the ongoing Lunar New Year travel rush.
Despite this, many communities "have passed the peak of the pandemic, and production and life are rapidly returning to normal," according to the editorial.
The "Zero-Covid" strategy sought to identify and isolate every infection case, as well as anyone they came in contact with and even third parties. It kept millions of people inside their homes in major cities like Shanghai for at least two months, many of whom faced food shortages and limited access to medical care.
The policy was strongly defended by China but began to be abandoned as a result of economic pressure and after unprecedented street protests in Beijing and other major cities against the ruling party and its leader, Xi Jinping. On January 8, it went a step further and stopped people coming from abroad to undergo time-consuming and expensive quarantine.
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China has dismissed criticism of policy excesses from both domestic and international quarters, calling earlier requests from the World Health Organization for it to adapt to changes in the nature of the virus as "irresponsible".
It made the sudden change to a policy of trying to stop only the most severe cases in the middle of winter, when many defied online censorship to express their anger, shocking the population even more. Testing facilities where long queues of people formed disappeared practically overnight, and field hospitals where millions were quarantined were simply disbanded.
The WHO and other countries continued to complain about China's lack of transparency after it stopped publishing data on new cases and deaths, which it suspected of longstanding under-reporting. According to unconfirmed estimates, thousands of new cases are now being reported every day, and in some provinces up to 85% of the population has been exposed to the disease.
Additionally, China has rejected requests to provide more data and information about the origins of the virus, which was first discovered in late 2019 in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. China accused those who made the request of "politicizing" the situation.
The government has also criticized foreign nations demanding travelers from China present a negative virus test, calling the requirement "discriminatory" despite the fact that China makes the same demands on all travelers.
The People's Daily editorial reflected this defensive stance, saying that China had successfully navigated the adjustment period after the "transition" and "shift" of epidemic prevention policy, with "careful medical preparation, sufficient production capacity reserves and strong organizational Thanks for the plan" and the equipment."
Any political manipulation is weak and ineffective in the face of China's achievements in prevention and control," it continued, citing support from academics in close Chinese diplomatic allies Nigeria, Kenya and Russia.
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The editorial said, "All parties should focus on combating the pandemic themselves, refrain from saying or doing anything that politicizes the pandemic, enhance solidarity and cooperation, and cooperate in ending the pandemic." "