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In China, which has a strong corona control policy, city lockdown continues despite the spread of Omicron, but impatient residents have unusually organized protests.



Correspondent Song Wook in Beijing reports.



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People filling the streets are calling for the lockdown to be lifted.



[Release the lockdown!

Remove the blockade!]



Temporary tents and barricades were broken, and a fight broke out with quarantine agents.



[He hits a person.

Quarantine agents hit people!]



Most of the protesters were residents of Huizhou City, Guangdong Province.



People commuting to neighboring Shenzhen City exploded when Huizhou City blocked entry for quarantine reasons.



China has adhered to a 'zero corona' policy that does not tolerate even a single confirmed person and has repeatedly closed buildings and closed cities, but it is facing the worst situation since the Wuhan outbreak in early 2020, with thousands of Omicron infections.



In the past month, at least 74 local government officials have been dismissed or disciplined in China, tightening the reins of quarantine.



However, there are cases of miscarriage or death due to refusal of hospital treatment for not having a negative corona certificate, and residents are also stocking up on food due to concerns about lockdown.



[Shanghai City Resident: I went to the mart and there is nothing. What is the situation?]



In the midst of this, as public sentiment worsens and the economic damage caused by the shutdown of factories increases, changes are gradually appearing in the quarantine policy.



Patients with mild symptoms are quarantined at facilities instead of hospitals, and the PCR test guidelines have also been changed to targeted tests in hazardous areas instead of city-wide tests.



However, there is a prevailing view that the possibility of a change in the zero-corona policy is not large as the Chinese medical system is not sufficient to go 'with Corona', and the party congress that will determine President Xi Jinping's third term this fall is held.



(Video coverage: Choi Deok-hyun, video editing: Park Sun-sun, video source: Weibo, China)