"I'm telling you not to open any windows that face North Korea."
This is from a video recently uploaded to Douin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
In a video with the words Jiansi, China's Jilin Province, bordering North Korea across the Yalu River, a woman said, "People who collect COVID-19 samples tell them not to open the North Korean window, but they are all in a dazed state."
The intention is not confirmed whether it is to prevent the intrusion of North Korean defectors or whether it is because of fears that Corona 19 will be transmitted through the air, but it seems clear that the whole of China is nervous about the corona 19 infection.
Enlarging an image
Even stones are tested for COVID-19... Annual inspection fee of 300 trillion won
China, which maintains a 'zero corona' policy, is emphasizing four 'early actions': △Early detection, △Early reporting, △Early quarantine, △Early treatment.
Officials who fail to quarantine will be reprimanded.
As the city of Shanghai failed to respond to COVID-19 in a way that subdivides the infected areas and minimizes lockdown, each local government is raising the level of quarantine as much as possible.
Even if an infected person goes, the area is sealed and Corona 19 PCR test is performed.
If you use public transportation or go to public places, you are required to have a negative PCR test result.
In cities with a population of 10 million or more, PCR testing stations are located within a 15-minute walk.
Not only people, but also imported frozen foods, which have long been pointed out as the main route of infection with COVID-19, as well as vegetables, fish, and stones are tested for COVID-19.
Enlarging an image
The problem is that the cost of testing for COVID-19 alone is astronomical.
Suzhou Securities estimates that in China's four 'first-tier cities' and 30 provincial-level 'second-tier cities' alone, the cost of regular corona testing for one year will reach 1.7 trillion yuan (about 316 trillion won). I did.
The population of Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities is about 500 million people.
In order to reduce the cost of mass inspection, a method of testing samples from 10 or 5 people is used, but the total inspection and regular inspection of residents are taking a huge blow to the local government's finances.
In this regard, the Sichuan province of Langzhong has announced that 620,000 residents are required to be tested for COVID-19 every Monday and Tuesday, at their own expense.
However, they protested that it was unfair to have regular tests at their own expense in a situation where there are no people infected with COVID-19, and in the end, Lang Zhongxi took a step back saying that they would not be forced to test.
Li Keqiang also stopped in 'Zero Corona Runaway'
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in a national videoconference on the 25th that 100,000 people attended, "(economic) development is the basis and key to solving all problems in our country. Guaranteeing the livelihood of the people must also be supported by development.”
He then emphasized, "We need to prevent the tendency to focus on (to quarantine) or to solve everything with one knife, and at the same time do a good job of preventing the spread of COVID-19 and fulfilling the mission of economic and social development."
After the lockdown in Shanghai, China's retail sales and industrial production growth in April fell -11.1% and -2.9%, respectively, the worst since the beginning of the 2020 outbreak in Wuhan.
The unemployment rate, an important measure of people's livelihood, has soared to the 6% level.
Prime Minister Li's remarks are also interpreted as raising the issue that the Chinese economy is in serious crisis as Chinese President Xi Jinping's 'zero corona' policy, which has been emphasized as his achievement, has reached an extreme.
There were even rumors of a power struggle between President Xi and Premier Li.
Enlarging an image
The concern about the side effects of the zero corona is not the opinion of Prime Minister Lee alone.
Not only Chinese scholars, but also the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed the opinion that it is not possible to prevent the highly contagious COVID-19 micron mutation with full containment, testing, and isolation as in the past.
Chinese people who have gone through extreme quarantine controls such as the Shanghai lockdown are also criticizing the zero-corona policy.
In particular, students at Peking University, Beijing Normal University, and Tianjin University took part in protests in groups against excessive quarantine.
Tianjin University students chanted slogans such as 'overthrow bureaucracy' and 'overthrow formalism', chanting 'to lift the school lockdown and allow them to return home', and then dispersed when the police arrived.
University protests ahead of the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre have put tensions in the CCP.
Enlarging an image
"Shiho Nanha"
When I asked a Chinese acquaintance why they didn't give up on the zero corona, the phrase 'sympathetic nanha (騎虎難下)' came back.
He explained that it is very dangerous to get off halfway because he has already ridden on the tiger's back, but it also means that it is difficult for the tiger to get tired or wait for it to die.
Earlier this month, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea chaired by President Xi Jinping said, “Korea has a large elderly population, regional development is unbalanced, and the total amount of medical resources is insufficient. Soldiers will come out, and it will have a serious impact on economic and social development and the lives, safety and health of the people," he said.
In addition to the poor medical environment, there are also political analyzes suggesting that the zero-corona waiver is a major flaw in President Xi's achievements in combating coronavirus.
In a situation where internal dissatisfaction is growing, it appears that President Xi is riding on a tiger's back, ahead of the decision to be elected for a third term this fall.
Enlarging an image
The problem is that China's quarantine measures are likely to be repeated in the future and will also affect the global economy.
Eurasia Group, an American think tank, selected 'Zero Corona' as one of the top 10 geopolitical risks threatening the global economy in January.
Eurasia Group said, "The containment measures will continue repeatedly in a situation where most of China's population does not have antibodies to the omicron mutation." I expected it to be aggravated.
The biggest problem right now is the 'explosion of quarantine' caused by the zero corona.
For Prime Minister Li's concerns about the economy to be properly implemented, there must be a signal from President Xi, but it has yet to be found.
“The virus is difficult to control, but under a totalitarian regime, people can be controlled,” a Beijing source said.