[Beijing Diary] The Two Faces of Zero Corona

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] November 4. News spread that two medical supply delivery drivers visited various places in Wangjing, a Korean-dense area in Beijing, China. As a result, some overlapping 'Jian Kang Bao' (a health app that can verify nucleic acid test results) accounts were deactivated with a 'tanchuang' (pop-up). In Beijing, where access to apartment entrances, shops, and restaurants requires showing a negative result on Jian Kang Bao, a tanchuang soon means self-quarantine.

November 5. Early in the morning, a notice came from my child's homeroom teacher that Monday's school classes would switch to remote learning. It was initially said to be for 'just one day,' but with a caveat that 'it could change according to the quarantine authorities.' The remote classes were said to be a decision by the local education committee.

November 6. The local quarantine committee notified that nucleic acid tests, which had to be taken once every three days, must now be taken daily. Although this is only for 6 to 8 days, it is uncertain when or how it might be extended. A temporary nucleic acid testing site was set up in the apartment complex park where children had been playing until the day before, and the waiting lines at external testing sites were several times longer than usual.

After the Greater China stock markets surged on the 4th amid expectations of easing China's zero-COVID policy, the quarantine tension in Beijing has rather intensified more than ever. The number of new confirmed cases in Beijing, which had dropped to single digits (9 cases) on the 27th of last month, rose to 49 as of the 5th, and nationwide cases jumped from 1,337 to 4,420 during the same period.

Works "Meeting on the Frontline (left)" and "By the Window (right)" exhibited at the National Art Museum of China. Several pieces meaning the struggle and hardship with "Zero COVID" stand out quite a bit. (Photo by Kim Hyunjung)

As the goal of 'zero confirmed cases' drifts further away, China's quarantine measures are losing rationality. A three-year-old child died due to delayed treatment caused by quarantine issues, and workers at Foxconn's factory in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, ran out onto the roads toward their hometowns without knowing how long it would take. In certain areas, grim rumors of starvation deaths have spread, and videos of physical fights or verbal disputes over community isolation issues are shared countless times daily on WeChat and Weibo.

The high-intensity quarantine guidelines, already hard for locals to endure, are even more painful for foreigners. Mr. A, a Korean who has lived in Beijing for 30 years, tried to enter via Tianjin after a short trip to Korea but faced a tanchuang on Jian Kang Bao and waited for over a month before returning to Korea. Another Korean, Mr. B, who commuted from Tianjin to Beijing, has not been able to attend school for over two months due to unresolved tanchuang. Mr. B expressed frustration, saying, "There was a time when no confirmed cases appeared in my residential area for over seven days, but my movement was still restricted. I filed multiple complaints to 12345 (civil complaint hotline), but only received mechanical 'dismissal' notices." As Beijing's 'fortification' without any logic or explanation prolongs, even Chinese people who have consistently complied with the government openly express dissatisfaction and share their angry experiences on various internet sites.

Paradoxically, Chinese President Xi Jinping has been engaging in more active diplomatic activities than ever since the closing of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Since October 31, he has met with leaders of Vietnam, Pakistan, and Tanzania every other day, and on November 4, he also met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Except for the meeting with the Pakistani Prime Minister, he did not wear a mask in any of the commemorative photos. Ahead of the G20 summit to be held in Indonesia, he is strengthening alliances as a strategy to counter the United States while signaling external openness and cooperation. Inside the country, the people's frustrations are festering, but the zero-COVID policy, serving only one person, still builds a Great Wall.

Update: November 7. Notification arrived that the once-daily nucleic acid testing has been extended from the 8th to the 10th. Also, the originally one-day remote schooling has been changed to 'until the date designated by the quarantine authorities for school reopening,' according to the Chaoyang District Education Committee's decision.

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