new security tightening in Shanghai, under the impetus of Beijing

Gaël, a Frenchman who has lived in Shanghai for eight years, was ordered to pack his bags on Saturday morning May 7: in his residence in the old center of the city, all the inhabitants were to be sent to solitary confinement. They were, however, tested negative for Covid-19, but the authorities want to accelerate the end of the epidemic by isolating more and more residents in residences affected by cases of Covid-19. When Gaël, advised by the French consulate, asked for an official document to justify this forced transfer to centers or hotels with Spartan conditions, the head of his residents’ committee sent him a video as a threat. We see police in white overalls trying to justify the expulsion of Chinese citizens before becoming impatient: “Stop asking why! There’s no why, it’s under the country’s regulations! »

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In recent days in Shanghai, the strengthening of the isolation policy has been accompanied by a rain of new rules: a ban on receiving deliveries for a week, and prohibited outings, even for medical appointments. The residences spared by the Covid-19 for weeks, which benefited from a certain freedom, also find themselves again subject to the most drastic measures for seven days. The number of cases is however gradually falling, as Shanghai begins its seventh week of confinement, with 3,717 cases on Monday May 9, after a peak at 27,600 cases in mid-April. But not fast enough for the authorities.

The zero Covid strategy will be maintained

This additional turn of the screw has a clear cause: a meeting, Thursday, May 5, of the standing committee of the political bureau of the Communist Party, which brings together the seven most senior Chinese leaders. The committee, largely dominated by President Xi Jinping, swept away the slightest doubt as to the strategy adopted for the coming months: zero Covid will be maintained, at all costs. “Perseverance is victory” proclaims the communiqué published at the end of the meeting, warming up a revolutionary slogan. It also calls for “resolutely combat any word or action that distorts, questions or calls into question [leur] epidemic prevention policy » : a clear warning to party officials who would argue with the orders or, at least, drag their feet.

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In the aftermath, the municipal committee of Shanghai held a long study session of the“spirit of the standing committee meeting”. The management of Shanghai is on hot coals as the city faces the largest outbreak of Covid-19 in China’s history. During previous major outbreaks in Wuhan, in the northeast, or in Xi’an, local leaders have been systematically sanctioned. On Friday and Saturday, many neighborhoods in Shanghai received instructions detailing even stricter rules.

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