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After Public Protests, China Published “Ten New Measures” to Ease COVID Control

China’s National Health Commission announced ten new COVID measures to soften its strict COVID control policies, It was done in an effort to soothe the public anger that was demonstrated in a string of protests throughout China a week ago. Some key features include:

  • People with COVID, with either mild symptoms or no symptoms, can choose to isolate either at home or at a state controlled (centralized) facility. In the past, the authorities quarantine in centralized facilities not only those who were infected, but also people who were in the same building.
  • The designation of high-risk area should be “precise.” This was in reference to the individual building, the floor, or even the apartment. It should not be broadly applied to the entire residential neighborhood, street, or other area. (as the local authorities had done in the past)
  • The authorities should not mobilize (require) all residents to take COVID tests.
  • Venues, except those with the elderly, children, or patients, will not check visitors’ COVID test results. In the past, all visitors had to provide negative COVID results before being allowed to enter the facility.
  • People travelling do not need to show negative COVID test results at the new city, either.
  • It is strictly prohibited to use any method to block a fire emergency exit, a buildings door, etc. (This was in response to the Urumqi fire that claimed dozens of people’s lives. This happened because the authorities sealed apartment doors and fire exits.)
  • If no new cases are found, “high-risk” areas should come out of lockdown in five days. In the past, several cities in China had locked down the entire city for months even with though there were only a handful of cases.

These new measures represent a major change from the communist regime’s previous “Zero-COVID” policy, which aimed to control and quarantine anyone who either had contact or was in a vicinity close to a COVID patient.

The authorities had in fact issued 20 measures in November in an attempt to ease the policy, but apparently it was not enough and the public didn’t buy it.

Source: Chinese Government Official website, December 7, 2022
http://www.gov.cn/fuwu/2022-12/07/content_5730470.htm.

China’s Number of First Marriages Fell Below 12 Million Last Year

China.com recently reported that, according to data just published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, in 2021, the number of first marriages in China was 11.578 million, a decrease of 708,000 from the previous year. This is also the first time in 37 years that the number of first marriages has fallen below 12 million. It represents a new low since 1985. In the past 8 years, the number of first marriages has dropped by 51.5 percent. Data also shows that in 2021, there were 7.643 million marriage registrations. This is the first time since 2003 that the number of marriages has fallen below the 8 million mark. In recent years, the age of the first marriage of young people has been greatly delayed. According to the China Census Yearbook-2020, the average age of a first marriage in 2020 was 28.67 years old, an increase of 3.78 years from the average age of first marriages in 2010 (24.89 years old). Marriage registration data includes the number of first marriages and the number of remarriages. The number of first marriages is more closely related to the number of births than the number of remarriages. The decline in the number of marriages will also have a greater impact on future population development. First, the number of births will decrease even more and the birth rate will continue to decline. Second, the natural growth rate of the population will also be affected. Third, the average life expectancy of people will continue to increase and the population structure will further age. Data shows that in 2021, the proportion of China’s population aged 65 and over reached 14.2 percent. With reasons such as the decrease in the number of first marriages, this ratio is expected to continue to increase.

Source: China.com, December 2, 2022
http://guoqing.china.com.cn/2022-12/02/content_78548985.htm

HKET: Bank of China Predicts China’s GDP will Grow by 3.2 Percent

Hong Kong Economic Times (HKET), the leading financial daily in Hong Kong, recently reported that, according to a report released by the Bank of China Research Institute, the GDP growth rate of the mainland this year is expected to be about 3.2 percent, which will be lowered by 2.8 percentage points overall due to the Zero Covid control policy. Difficulties in Covid prevention, as well as the control measures disrupting the economy are important reasons for growth  declining. The pressure of demand contraction will remain next year, and fiscal policy will be an important driving force for the economy. According to changes in a number of factors, the report makes three forecasts: pessimistic, baseline and optimistic. In a pessimistic scenario, the pandemic continues to break out, population movement is still largely restricted, and supply and demand are sluggish. Next year’s GDP could grow by about 3.6 percent. Under the baseline situation, the pandemic situation is generally controllable and its impact on the economy will gradually weaken. This may result in an increase of about 5.3 percent. Under an optimistic scenario, the impact of the pandemic control measures are greatly weakened, and the recovery of supply and demand is accelerated, reaching an increase of about 6.6 percent. Although the Chinese economy will continue to recover next year, it still faces challenges such as the weak foundation of domestic demand, the security of the supply chain, and the spillover risks of external economic and financial market fluctuations. Considering that the U.S. Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates next year, extra attention should be paid to its policy changes.

Source: HKET, November 30, 2022
https://bit.ly/3Usp3eh

Global Times: US B-21 Bomber Will Only Be a Paper Plane Facing the Taiwan Strait

Global Times, which acts under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party‘s flagship newspaper, the People’s Daily, recently published an official commentary on the just announced US B-21 Raider stealth strategic bomber. This is the new generation of bombers that the United States launched after more than 30 years. The U.S. Secretary of Defense declared, “Even the most advanced air defense systems will find it difficult to detect the B-21 in the air.” The CEO of the manufacturer Northrop Grumman boasted that the world “has never seen any technology like the B-21.” Since the US Air Force Secretary has repeatedly stated that he wants to use the B-21 to “deter China,” many US media have focused on the so-called “response to the China’s threat” talking point. Under such a high-profile propaganda campaign, the true face of the B-21 is still mysterious, with no specifications announced. This is in stark contrast to when the B-2 debuted more than 30 years ago. It appears that the B-21 is an important link in the continuation of the U.S. military-industry chain of interests. Only by continuously exaggerating the China Threat can they get a larger budget from the U.S. Congress. In the meantime, the high-profile promotion of the B-21 also has the U.S. military taking the opportunity to build up the tension in the Taiwan Strait, thereby accelerating the transfer of military resources to the Asia-Pacific region and the intention of attracting allies. However, even those who are not professional military personnel or scholars should understand a simple truth: the so-called “deterrence” has always been a combination of military strength and political determination. During the Korean War and the Vietnam War, how much American equipment was reduced to scrap iron on the battlefield? What kind of weapons the United States develops is its own business. However, if the U.S. threatens and intimidates China with this new toy, it will only become a gently falling paper airplane.

Source: Global Times, December 4, 2022
https://opinion.huanqiu.com/article/4AjvyRzujUy

The CCP Tries to Cool Down the Blank Sheets of Paper Protest

As protests against the authorities’ extreme COVID control policy are mushrooming throughout China, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been attempting to douse the fire with what appears to be both carrots and sticks. Blank sheets of paper have become a symbol of resistance among those protesting Beijing’s COVID lockdown policies. They are showing up at protests across the nation. In a nation where a protest message could get a person jailed, opponents of the Chinese regime are innovating by using a a blank page to call for change. Thus, the blank sheet of paper has become a symbol of resistance

The CCP issued a tough message through the Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC), the top CCP organ in charge of domestic security, and through the judicial system, with a meeting on November 28 to announce it would “resolutely crack down on the infiltration and sabotage activities of hostile forces, and resolutely crack down on illegal and criminal acts that disrupt the social order.”

Truckloads of armed police have been dispatched to Shanghai and Beijing. In Guangzhou, the police have clashed with protesters. Demonstrators have thrown glass bottles at the police, and the police have used tear gas to disperse the protestors.

On the other hand, the central government has also made a conciliatory gesture regarding COVID restrictions. The National Health Commission stated on November 29 that “COVID control should lock down quickly and open up quickly (afterwards)” and “wherever it can open up, it should open up.”

Some local authorities have yielded to protesters’ demands and relaxed COVID controls in certain regions. The Guangzhou government ended the lockdown in Haizhu District on Nov 16 after the public protest. Urumqi in Xinjiang released several residential neighborhoods on Nov 26 after people took to the streets and the Shanghai government announced that on Dec 1, it would end the control in 24 high-risk regions.

Whether the CCP’s “hard and soft” strategy will completely quiet down the protest remains to be seen.

Sources:
1. Chinascope, November 29, 2022
http://chinascope.org/archives/31170
1. The Paper, November 29, 2022
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_20945808
2. China Outlook, November 30, 2022
https://news.creaders.net/china/2022/11/30/2552449.html

Defense Intelligence Agency Forms a “China Mission Group”

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is a combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense, which specializes in defense and military intelligence. It is establishing a “China mission group” to monitor China. The agency is pulling analysts and experts together to form the group and to produce, analyze, and disseminate military intelligence regarding China. This new mission group is expected to reach full operational capacity early next year.

This group reflects the U.S. strategy shift toward China and the Indo-Pacific after its decades of fighting and counterterrorism efforts in the Middle East.

The DIA plans to move more resources to the Pacific, including people, communications, and information technology. It has already started talks with friendly countries in the region regarding extending the agency’s footprint.

Source: NTDTV, November 30, 2022
https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/11/30/a103587163.html