China Strengthens Quarantine Measures for Koreans by Region... Chinese Government Remains Passive

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] China's mandatory quarantine measures for arrivals from Korea to prevent the re-importation of COVID-19 are becoming increasingly severe. This contrasts with the normalization procedures being implemented by various local governments in China as they downgrade their COVID-19 response levels and resume city operations. While the Korean government views the mandatory quarantine for arrivals from Korea as an "overreaction," it is expected to be difficult to coordinate opinions between the two countries since these measures are local government decisions rather than directives from the Chinese central government.

According to consulates and diplomatic sources in various regions of China on the 26th, controls on arrivals from Korea are expanding and intensifying. In Dalian, Liaoning Province, where many Korean businesses and expatriates reside, quarantine staff have been boarding flights arriving from Korea and Japan since the previous day to conduct temperature checks on all passengers. In Shenyang, Liaoning Province, quarantine measures for flights from Korea have been strengthened; upon disembarking, Korean passengers are transported by designated vehicles to hospitals for COVID-19 testing. Even if the test results are negative, they must return home and self-quarantine.

There have also been cases of mandatory quarantine. In Weihai, Shandong Province, all 163 passengers on a Jeju Air flight from Incheon that arrived at 10:50 a.m. local time the previous day were quarantined. The Weihai city government announced a policy starting the previous day that all arrivals from Japan and Korea, regardless of nationality, will be mandatorily quarantined and allowed to return home only after 14 days. Qingdao City in Shandong Province has also tightened entry regulations for arrivals from Korea, requiring 14 days of self-quarantine at designated hotels since the 24th. On a flight that arrived in Nanjing from Incheon the previous day, a passenger with a fever was detected, and about 70 passengers seated near the individual among the 169 onboard were quarantined at a designated hotel.

In some areas such as Shenyang and Beijing, warning notifications have been issued advising local residents to avoid areas with a high concentration of Koreans as much as possible. In Shanghai, temperature checks were reportedly conducted on Koreans who had been in the country for two weeks after arrival.

Koreans remaining in China are feeling anxious due to the increasingly strict mandatory quarantine measures for arrivals from Korea and the heightened vigilance toward Koreans.

Chinese residents living in areas with many Koreans have expressed concerns such as, "We are afraid of Koreans entering the community. More people will arrive soon, and it makes us uneasy." On social media platforms like Weibo, there is a growing number of Chinese people demanding that the Chinese government block Korean arrivals. The Korean expatriate community has urged cooperation with local measures and cautioned to avoid conflicts, noting that "Chinese people are very sensitive to the COVID-19 situation in Korea."

◆ Chinese Government Takes a Hands-Off Approach... Supports and Justifies Local Government Decisions = China is not considering issuing travel advisories for countries like Korea and Japan, where COVID-19 cases are increasing. The quarantine and control measures for arrivals from Korea in various regions are local government decisions aimed at preventing the spread of infection within their jurisdictions, not directives from the central government.

Even if the Korean government, which has exercised considerable restraint in responding to China since the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak, officially protests to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the sporadic and autonomous nature of these local government measures to prevent re-importation of COVID-19 creates loopholes for China to evade responsibility by claiming "no orders were given."

The Chinese central government appears to be taking a hands-off stance and even backing the local governments' strengthened controls on Korean arrivals. Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized at a press briefing the previous afternoon that "protecting the lives, safety, and health of one's citizens and safeguarding regional and global public health security in the face of infectious diseases is a responsibility that all countries must bear."

As online disputes between Koreans and Chinese flare up over China's tightening of regional control levels to prevent COVID-19 re-importation, China has also begun a rationalization campaign using the media.

On the same day, the Chinese state-run Global Times explained that "strict measures such as enhanced quarantine for arrivals may appear to contrast with the goodwill and assistance neighboring countries showed China during the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak, but these methods represent China's pragmatic, scientific, and reasonable response." The newspaper added, "These measures chosen by China are the only way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. If reinfection spreads again, all the COVID-19 control efforts so far will be in vain, and the global fight against COVID-19 will reach a deadlock."

Meanwhile, except for Hubei Province, the number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases in China has dropped to single digits. Amid this controlled atmosphere, many regions including Guangdong Province have downgraded their epidemic response levels, and except for the outbreak origin Hubei Province and the capital Beijing, regions have classified COVID-19 infection risk into low, medium, and high categories, beginning phased normalization of economic activities starting with low-risk areas.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.