Fog binding with the smog makes it look worse than it is. I mean the pollution is not low but it’s also not extreme by #Beijing standards. #China
The pollution is actually going up in #Beijing tonight. As a comparison, here’s the AQI in some other major cities right now, #Paris & #NewYork. #China’s capital has become so much better in recent years (we used to hit 500 and 800 days) but, that said, we’re not getting many 15s
#Beijing is not under any official #Covid lockdown but the vast majority of restaurants, shops etc in Chaoyang District are shut and many companies and government departments have told staff not to come in this week because of the #Coronavirus outbreak in the city. #China
I should add the closing of businesses etc mentioned above has also spread to other parts of #Beijing + most schools have switched to online classes. Some restaurants are doing delivery meals. #Covid infections keep going up. Infections found outside of quarantine doubled today.
For this piece, workers at #Foxconn told us about some of the crazy rumours which drove the panic and mass breakout at the world’s largest producer of #Apple iPhones in #China… bbc.co.uk/news/world-asi…
‘According to these rumours, the plan was to see how many of them would die.… Sentiments were spreading like: "Foxconn is going to take my life."’ bbc.co.uk/news/world-asi…
Workers have broken out of #Apple’s largest assembly site, escaping the Zero #Covid lockdown at Foxconn in #Zhengzhou. After sneaking out, they’re walking to home towns more than 100 kilometres away to beat the Covid app measures designed to control people and stop this. #China
Workers have broken out of #Apple’s largest assembly site, escaping the Zero #Covid lockdown at Foxconn in #Zhengzhou. After sneaking out, they’re walking to home towns more than 100 kilometres away to beat the Covid app measures designed to control people and stop this. #China
Meanwhile nationalists in #China have convinced themselves that their country has a monopoly on wisdom re the correct handling of #Covid. They’re often going on about “the West” and its opening up but actually its the whole world apart from China which has abandoned Zero Covid
Today’s opening of #China’s Communist Party Congress will be dominated by a long speech from Xi Jinping which will sound turgid and formulaic but the choice of words has been workshopped for months and analysts will be pouring over it for any signs of policy shifts.
People will be searching for any shifts in economic policy priorities or any moves regarding #China’s foreign policy, especially say in relation to the #US. Naturally, Chinese people will be looking out for any signs of light at the end of the Zero-#Covid tunnel.
Looks like no changes to Zero-#Covid in #China in a hurry. Xi Jinping just said "people's lives come first; we will not waver in our Zero Covid policy".
What happened when #XiJinping visited Zhangbei. Well, according to #China's Party-controlled media, it was something of a miracle... bbc.com/news/av/world-…