"Death of 3-Year-Old Amid China COVID Lockdown Sparks SNS Spread and Protests"

Spread of posts about infant deaths on Weibo
Lost survival chances due to city lockdown
Protests criticizing authorities' response continue
Foreign media: Zero-COVID policy unsustainable

A resident in Shanghai, China is undergoing a COVID-19 test behind a barricade in a locked-down area. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] "My son was indirectly killed." Tuo Srei (32), who lives in Lanzhou City, Gansu Province, China, lost his three-year-old son on the 1st due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Around lunchtime that day, his wife, who was cooking in the kitchen, and their sleeping son, Wenshien, were exposed to LPG gas and found unconscious.

Tuo urgently ran to the checkpoint to request an ambulance and police, but the checkpoint staff demanded a PCR test result certificate. This was because Lanzhou City's Qilihe District was under lockdown by Chinese authorities, and several procedures had to be followed to operate a vehicle.

Eventually, with the help of villagers, they headed to the hospital, but three hours had already passed since the accident, and the son was deceased. The hospital was only a 10-minute drive from Tuo's home. Tuo posted on social media (SNS), "If my son had been taken to the hospital quickly, he would have survived," criticizing the authorities' response.

As the spread of COVID-19 continues centered around Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, the Chinese government is imposing strict lockdown measures throughout urban areas. Moreover, some local governments are locking down cities without official announcements, leading to criticism that the reckless quarantine policies are harming citizens' human rights and the economy.

CNN reported on the 3rd (local time) that Tuo's post spread on China's SNS Weibo, sparking protests by local residents. Tuo's post, tagged with the hashtag "Three years of epidemic is almost a lifetime," was widely shared but later deleted online. However, videos appeared on SNS showing people presumed to be Lanzhou residents shouting at officials demanding a thorough investigation.

The video shows a man shouting, "Give us back our freedom," and residents confronting police officers while wearing shields and helmets. CNN could not verify the source of the video but quoted a Lanzhou resident saying, "Special police squads have been seen patrolling the area."

In addition, in September, thousands of residents in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, held large-scale protests against lockdowns. Despite hundreds of police officers suppressing the protests, demonstrators fiercely protested by throwing water bottles at the police.

Recently, Chinese authorities locked down the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, the world's largest iPhone production base, leading to a massive escape of workers exhausted by hunger.

Foreign media pointed out that China's zero-COVID policy, focused on lockdown measures, not only suppresses citizens' human rights but also severely damages the economy, making it unsustainable.

While the Chinese government's city lockdowns initially helped curb the spread of the disease to some extent, their effectiveness has now ended. Most countries have judged that city lockdowns cause significant economic and social damage and are shifting toward increasing vaccination rates and easing quarantine measures.

U.S. economic media CNBC warned that if China maintains its zero-COVID policy amid this trend, global companies will increasingly try to leave China.

Patrick Chen, head of research at Cr?dit Lyonnais Securities Asia (CLSA), said, "Unless China changes its quarantine policy, incidents like the Foxconn factory lockdown will continue," adding, "This is expected to lower employee morale and negatively impact productivity."

CNBC stated, "The Foxconn lockdown shows that China's system is broken," and pointed out, "The biggest concern for entrepreneurs and investors is this uncertainty."

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