For three years China attempted a zero-Covid policy with draconian lockdowns, testing and quarantine. However, that all abruptly changed last month. In a dramatic U-turn, a few cities began opening up before the government announced a country-wide roll-back on 7 December.
Similar U-turns happened in the West, where one day Covid was the most dangerous thing since Ebola to the next day where any dangers were downplayed. Don’t kill your Granny went to ‘living with the virus’ and a similar thing is happening in China.
Many think China’s reopening is partly due to the large protests seen in the country last month. However, as I noted at the time, you only get to see what China wants you to see and if you are suddenly seeing videos of protests up and down the country, China is allowing you to see them. But for what purpose?
Were the protests really a threat to Xi? Was he stuck in a zero-Covid trap that needed a really big excuse to get out of?
Another reason given for the U-turn is that Omicron had begun to surge around the country. Zero-Covid restrictions clearly did nothing to stop it spreading so did the Chinese government admit defeat and hope the more mild strain would give natural immunity to their population?
But it seems along with the zero-Covid policy reversal is a new swathe of psy-op propaganda.
Remember the videos in late 2019/early 2020 of people collapsing in the street (but managing to put their hands out to break their fall!) and storm troopers fumigating Chinese cities?
The latest ones flooding the Internet are of ‘leaked’ videos from overflowing Chinese crematoriums.
And they’re working. Apparently 50% of Chinese passengers on two flights tested positive for Covid (sounds very high). As a result, Italy has resumed testing all arrivals and the US require arrivals from China to have negative test results (apparently it’s not racist anymore). India, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea have also added restrictions.
This should be evidence that zero-Covid doesn’t work and at best it prolongs the inevitable.
However, there are many that are once again claiming that this shows zero-Covid does work and by trying to follow the west and open up, the Chinese have caused misery and death to circulate. But even if the Chinese have not developed any natural immunity, if it is Omicron that is spreading, it shouldn’t be killing anyone. Even the elderly should be fine with the appropriate early treatment.
There are also claims that China’s relaxation of Covid rules has created the perfect conditions for a new variant to emerge and spread around the world.
So if the psy-ops do intensify again, what could be reason?
Somebody is trying to convince us that lockdowns in China did work and prevent deaths. Maybe to use as examples of why lockdowns were necessary in upcoming inquiries? We are entering the year of the excuse after all;
There really is a new variant that is more deadly. Could this be used to push more vaccines? “See our mRNA vaccines worked whilst China’s antiquated vaccines didn’t”;
There is a new variant but isn’t more lethal. However, it may evade vaccine immunity or be used as an excuse for immune systems that are shot to pieces;
An excuse to bring back Covid passes;
As with the Ukrainian war, an excuse it being created for the upcoming financial/food/energy difficulties in 2023. Could this be blamed on China opening up too quickly, either causing more inflation or by then having to shut down again.
Could the Japanese bond yield be the canary in the coalmine?
And who are the psy-ops aimed at if coming from China? The west, their own citizens or both.
Hopefully, this is just the usual panic over nothing but China is clearly leaking videos for some purpose. What do you think?
I think the Chinese are manufacturing evidence that the lockdowns were effective, in an attempt to save face. There shouldn't even be much of a rise in cases in the post omicron era, but all western news sources are uncritically repeating the numbers on a Chinese wave. Look, the party knew they lockdowns would have to be rescinded at some point, as well as respond to evidence that most Chinese had been infected in spite of the lockdowns - what better time for China to suffer its worse covid wave than right after the government's policy was challenged?
An interesting take and you may well be right.
I read it slightly differently;
The Chinese people had had enough, so relaxing the rules was inevitable.
With these new videos of people on the floor in hospitals and morgues overflowing the Chinese government is saying: ‘Look what happens if you have your way. That is why we protected you our way for all this time. We were right with our zero Covid policy.’