Those of you with longer memories may remember my previous article, published in February, in which I suggested that Xi Jin Ping’s political future would be strongly linked to the CCP ‘Zero Covid’ policy and its perceived success or failure. What, then, of Xi Jin Ping’s bid for a lifetime term of office, to be decided at the NPC (National People’s Congress) on October 16th?
China’s Zero Covid policy remains very much in place while others, notably New Zealand’s, have been suddenly and embarrassingly abandoned. Jacinda Ardern’s statement “We just need to respect everyone’s individual decisions” with regard to ongoing mask-wearing is laughable from someone who sacked state employees who took the individual decision not to be vaccinated. But China’s continuing policy has had deep and sometimes bizarre consequences. Chengdu, where most pandas come from, is a mega-city of 21 million people and was recently locked down for 19 days, until last weekend.
Al Jazeera reported last week that “Residents of Ghulja (where most Uighurs come from) in China’s far western Xinjiang region say they have run out of food after more than 40 days under a strict coronavirus lockdown.” These are heavy lockdowns, by the way: Al Jazeera described them as “whole communities [confined] to their homes for extended periods – with food supplies delivered… with forced medication, arrests and residents being hosed down with disinfectant.”
Back in Chengdu, there was “Outcry as Chinese lockdown traps residents during earthquake” (BBC). Allowing people out of locked compounds was apparently more of a risk (because of Covid) than a 6.8 magnitude earthquake which killed at least 65 people.
This weekend, a coach crash near Guiyang in south China killed 27 passengers while on their forced transportation to a quarantine facility some 150km from their homes. Comments on the Weibo forum were allowed – but only two out of 96 were published.
Because of censorship it is difficult to assess the degree of pushback against policies, but Sina Weibo and TikTok have been busy. There was also genuine concern about coverage of Her late Majesty’s funeral, with many Chinese very surprised at the almost entire absence of face masks (the Chinese delegation excepted). But pushback there is.
So what is the endgame here? Your correspondent makes these predictions.
Firstly, little will happen in the next two to three weeks. The October 16th start to the CCP’s 20th National Congress, at which Xi Jin Ping’s term is up for renewal, is too close for any major announcements. In any event, a change from Zero Covid policy at this stage would be perceived as an admission of failure.
Instead, there will be suppression of dissent. On September 20th, the Weibo account of Lao Dongyan was wiped. She is a Professor of Law at the pre-eminent Tsing Hua University and had 400,000 followers. She is a policy critic. Expect more of the same.
Secondly, Xi Jin Ping will be re-elected. This will not be for life, as often previously assumed, but will be for a third term. Nobody has done this since Mao, so there is a personal achievement for Xi. But not even he is exempt from the CCP consequences of policy failure, so there will be no life term. A clue to eventual succession will be provided by the people escorting him onto the stage.
Thirdly, China will then abandon Zero Covid. Not quite immediately, and not all at once, as in New Zealand. That is not the China way. But China’s economy, and perhaps population, demands the opening of borders with Hong Kong, Asia and beyond. Xi Jin Ping will present this as looking to future prosperity: a leap forward, but perhaps not a great one.
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All going well if the intention is to undermine trust in this and many other institutions.
Well I just think we’re going to have to resort to putting ‘Penis-owners’ and ‘Vagina-owners’ on toilet/changing room doors because evidently the old, traditional ‘Female/Ladies’ and ‘Male/Men’ is just way to ambiguous these days and is clearly open to interpretation, and with delusional loonies like the woman below ( who doesn’t even know what a woman is ) then we need to be literal to a fault;
”I feel conflicted sometimes when posting these videos.
She’s going to be so embarrassed one day, if she isn’t already, which I think she is. (She showed up the next day just to complain about me speaking with her on camera, even though she approached me to come speak on camera.)
These clips will live on forever, as other people post them.
Evidence of a time when much of the world lost its mind.
She’s going to be so embarrassed that she was sucked into a cult this badly and doesn’t know what a woman is, even though she’s a woman.
It’s just mind-bogglingly stupid and damaging, this whole thing.
But this is a war to protect our kids, and the widespread nature of this insanity has to be shown. The embarrassment these people will feel is unfortunate collateral damage.”
https://x.com/BillboardChris/status/1797494220414185488
Meanwhile, what with Father’s Day round the corner, what to get the man who has everything? Well which man could possibly say no to a ‘Period Bracelet’? Yes, real men wear a piece of tat around their wrist to show they’re totally onboard with ‘riding the crimson wave’, and I think it just reeks of masculinity, personally. Well, it’s a thing in Turdeau’s Canada, apparently;
”People don’t bring their own toilet paper to work, so they shouldn’t have to bring their own pads and tampons.
We changed that. We put free menstrual products in federally-regulated workplaces.
This bracelet is for Menstrual Hygiene Day.”
https://x.com/BillboardChris/status/1795687328440316022
Off this topic but Farage has put his cock on the block !!! What Next
‘Cock block’?
Standing as MP for Clacton & taking charge of Reform
By their logic other mammals can have their gender assigned at birth.
Yes we know that most of our institutions have been hijacked by the Wokerati. The Liberal Progressives, formerly known as communists, know that communism gets a bad press, so they do what they do with everything else and just change the language. They think “Progressive” sounds modern and good. Who could possibly object to “Progress” right?
Except “progressing to what? The answer is more and more government controlling every aspect of people’s lives
They lost trust in 2020, anything after makes no difference to me.
Dropped shopping to Old in laws this morning ! ITV morning guff prog (Cat Deeley) over to quiz they said to win a Merc & Cash , I didn’t catch the link up presenters name but nothing could have prepared me for the They Them Things Appearance , I’ll try & describe – big boned camp bloke buffed to the limit with tiny hot pants full make up doing enough to win Top prize at any Pride event ! Main stream Tele for you trying to normalise the abnormal
Sex is not assigned at birth. Sex is determined at conception and noticed at birth or before, and I guess these days in most places sex is legally recorded as part of the process of registering the birth, and I suppose also for hospital records. Sex is not some invented social construct, it’s something provided by God or fate or nature or the universe or whatever you choose to believe in.
“Sex assigned at birth”?
How? Do they hold the baby in front of a Hogwarts Sorting Hat in order to have it’s fate decided?
B*llocks.
Lancet, you need to go the way of News Of The World or Titbits; you have sunk to the same level.