01-01-2023, 11:48 AM
https://www.ft.com/content/fb879510-c2bb...2078ae15ec
China on Friday reported just one coronavirus fatality for the day before, despite forecasts suggesting this winter’s wave would cause millions of deaths.
The party has been left with the awkward task of releasing obituaries for deceased top cadres too noteworthy to ignore. State propagandists have parroted banal party-speak, projecting bluster and offering little in the way of explanation to suffering citizens.
Lam said that for Xi, who had previously claimed victory over the pandemic, one “particularly detrimental” long-term threat is that the harm is being felt “not only by ordinary people, not only the disadvantaged classes, but even senior cadres, their parents and retired senior cadres”.
Despite heavy controls on public dissent, Chinese censors have struggled to staunch the flood of complaints on social media. Most have focused on the lack of forewarning or preparation for China’s thinly resourced healthcare system ahead of the reopening.
“If [China] opens at the end of the year, then what is the reason for so many cities being closed down for three months this year?” said one social media user. “Why choose to open up in winter when the virus is the most active and the people’s immunity system is weakest?”
China on Friday reported just one coronavirus fatality for the day before, despite forecasts suggesting this winter’s wave would cause millions of deaths.
The party has been left with the awkward task of releasing obituaries for deceased top cadres too noteworthy to ignore. State propagandists have parroted banal party-speak, projecting bluster and offering little in the way of explanation to suffering citizens.
Lam said that for Xi, who had previously claimed victory over the pandemic, one “particularly detrimental” long-term threat is that the harm is being felt “not only by ordinary people, not only the disadvantaged classes, but even senior cadres, their parents and retired senior cadres”.
Despite heavy controls on public dissent, Chinese censors have struggled to staunch the flood of complaints on social media. Most have focused on the lack of forewarning or preparation for China’s thinly resourced healthcare system ahead of the reopening.
“If [China] opens at the end of the year, then what is the reason for so many cities being closed down for three months this year?” said one social media user. “Why choose to open up in winter when the virus is the most active and the people’s immunity system is weakest?”