As the country’s harsh ‘zero-Covid’ policy take its toll, Chinese citizens who are under lockdown are complaining about food and medicine shortages, which has spurred the authorities to denounce their frantic appeals on social media sites. Tens of millions of people have been told to stay at home in at least 30 locations that are either completely or partially under lockdown.
The Guardian reports that censors have been instructed to flood social media with insignificant posts about Xinjiang—a region that has been under lockdown for more than a month—in order to blunt complaints about food and medicine shortages. This information comes from a leaked directive that was published by the China Digital Times (CDT).
‘There are no restrictions on the subject matter. Domestic life, parenting in the moment, cooking, and moods all qualify as content. All online commentators should post once per hour (totaling twice), but not immediately after one another. Repeat: don’t do it quickly!’, read the directive, as translated by CDT.
Prior to the Communist Party of China’s Congress in October, authorities have been scrambling to quell local breakouts. Even if only a small number of instances are documented, China’s zero-Covid policy necessitates stringent lockdowns. According to the BBC, China reported 949 new Covid cases on Monday. Desperate inhabitants of Xinjiang’s Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture on the border with Kazakhstan have been fervently appealing for assistance on social media throughout the 40-day lockdown.
In one post, a video of an upset Uyghur father complaining that his three children hadn’t eaten in three days was displayed. A shared online document with over 300 urgent demands for food, medication, and sanitary pads went viral in Ili, the regional seat of northwest Yining city. ‘ I don’t have enough cash to buy materials. We have two kids and my wife is expecting. Gas is getting low on us. My wife needs medical attention,’ said a local. The region has Han Chinese, Kazakh, and Uyghur inhabitants.
Similar to this, in the southwestern province of Guizhou, authorities shut off a section of the provincial capital, Guiyang, without warning, trapping 500,000 citizens at home with little time to prepare or stock up on supplies. The Guardian reported that elevators at buildings were turned off to prevent people from leaving. A month after a long-awaited UN report that condemned Beijing for ‘serious human rights breaches’ against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, stories of Chinese citizens battling for food and help have surfaced.
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