China's Latest COVID Outbreak Strains CCP Zero-Covid Measures

China is enduring another large wave of COVID-19 infections, and the zero-covid policies of the Chinese Communist Party are stoking discontent and frustration among the Chinese people.

For Context: China’s pandemic policies are aimed at containing the spread of COVID and eliminating the virus altogether. This leads to mass quarantines, testing, and lockdowns, which have greatly hampered a Chinese economy reliant on manufacturing-exports. Recently, a fire in Xinjiang, the westernmost region of the country, killed 10 people. Outlets reported onlookers blaming lockdown measures for the authority’s delayed response to the fire. The fire led to a rare wave of anti-lockdown protests, which the CCP responded to by announcing an ease of lockdown measures. This past week in Zhengzhou, striking workers at the largest iPhone manufacturing factory in the world clashed with police over COVID concerns and payment delays.

Key Quotes: Reuters (Center Bias) quoted Dali Yang, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, stating, “during the first two years of COVID, people trusted the government to make the best decisions to keep them safe from the virus. Now people are increasingly asking tough questions and are wary about following orders.” Another Reuters article quoted Oxford Economics senior economist Louise Loo stating, “we expect officials to be able to respond swiftly to stem the social risk of escalating protests.”

How the Media Covered It: China’s troubles are being covered across the spectrum, with domestic outlets focusing on the American economic implications of more lockdown measures in China.