Wall pass n°113 – The big mess, Jiang Zemin, electric vehicles

The announced end of zero COVID surprised, both in China and elsewhere. EastIsRed was one of those who didn't see it coming, at least not at this speed. Protests showed popular exasperation directed at epidemic politics, but we thought the government was blocked by the need to maintain strict control to prevent the risk of widespread infection. International studies are indeed very pessimists about the risks of excess mortality in a Chinese population poorly immunized to COVID.

We weren't the only ones surprised.. Local governments themselves have been. In the days following the protests, the measurements follow each other randomly. The 30 November, as Beijing announces the end of some of the most criticized measures, Guangzhou municipality discusses extending home quarantines until outbreak cleared.

To be frank, we have a little lost the course of the various measures. beijing, Shanghai ou encore Guangzhou let go ballast on PCR tests, but other cities in Jiangxi or theAnhui still lock residents in their building. Witnesses told EastIsRed that the instructions of the neighborhood committee contradict each other from one day to the next. From now on, the government noted that the “most positive cases will be able to confine themselves to the house”. Reuters table on an upcoming announcement of a “lesser” classification of the severity of the epidemic, an anticipation shared by EastIsRed in previous Wall Passes.

Most notable is the change in tone of the official speech. Within a week, COVID has gone from a deadly virus to protect against to a less dangerous variant. In an editorial published on 5 december, Xinhua Explain learned that the worst of the epidemic is already over. The weather vane of the Chinese internet, Hu Xijin, who manages to say everything and its opposite every month, reports now that he expects to catch COVID within a month.

Faced with this sequence as unpredictable as it is dangerous, EastIsRed refrains from any comments that are too harsh. One thing is sure : the period that opens is full of risks. China's healthcare system remains fragile, and a circulation of COVID will lead to serious cases and probably deaths. The next ones will be critical.