Despite continual confirmation of the complete and total failure of China’s Zero COVID policies, Beijing continues to insist on the draconian lockdown regime even as COVID cases spread wherever and whenever they will, lockdowns be damned.
Even Beijing is not immune to the impudence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
China reported a slight decline in new COVID-19 cases on Saturday as numerous cities battled outbreaks, and as restaurants and other businesses in Beijing shut after authorities urged people to stay home over the weekend.
Authorities have recently sought to ease the impact of their tough zero-COVID policy, which is battering the world's second-biggest economy and sowing frustration and anger as case numbers have risen to their highest since April.
Numerous businesses in Beijing's Chaoyang district, the capital's main business and diplomatic area, have shut or announced only limited services.
In Guangzhou, residents are objecting loudly to the Zero COVID protocols.
Guangzhou authorities recently announced they would build facilities with more than 250,000 hospital beds to cope with the rising cases. This week, residents staged a protest in defiance of strict lockdown policies.
Meanwhile, China is still grappling with historically high unemployment, which first shot up above 5% in 2018, and is showing signs of becoming permanently entrenched at 5% and higher.
Workers can’t work when businesses are closed due to COVID.
Zero COVID is also giving business owners zero confidence about China’s economic future.
Of course, with sagging and declining PMIs, China’s lack of business confidence appears to be justified.
Zero COVID leaves zero room for business activity, zero room for economic growth, and zero room for prosperity. This has been proven time and again even in China.
Thus leaving zero logic behind China’s Zero COVID policies.
OK, the Chinese (by which I mean CCP, I have no problems with Chinese people) are many things but they aren't stupid.
Please explain why they are doing this.
1) They "know" something about "long Covid" and are trying to protect their people
2) Their economy is screwed and this is just a cover story to stop bank runs (remember, China "beat" Covid when the West was in lockdown, this is a hell of a climb down)
3) They are gearing to a war economy and this is how you keep all the pesky peasants from sharing all the tanks rolling by on social media
Locking down tens of millions of people for a handful of mild cold Omicron cases via a faulty PCR test is not reasonable or justifiable. There has to be a real reason. Please tell me what you think is actually going on.
Years ago a sign-maker told me: A business with no sign is a sign of no business.
Dictator Xi is like a business with no sign. He doesn't understand that prosperity comes from allowing people to interact with each other.