China, the country
where the deadly coronavirus originated, continues to remain firm on its
zero-COVID commitment despite anger and resentment brewing among citizens.
China has seen some of the strictest lockdowns meant to keep the virus at bay
even while its economy suffers. Public anger has not been able to force a
policy rethink.

The
highly-transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19 is testing China’s limits.
President Xi Jinping, who needs all the public support that he can gather ahead
of his taking charge of the world’s second-largest economy for the third
consecutive time, has flatly refused to backdown against the coronavirus and
public resentment regarding Beijing’s policies.

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Political analysts
say that even though Xi realises the impact the restrictions are having on the
Chinese economy, he cannot afford to look weak in a year he must appear strong.
“Persevering in China’s own answers to shocks rather than import answers found
by the West seems to be his thinking,” Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist
for Asia Pacific at Natixis, told Reuters.

This, the economist
believes, also works for China’s ‘dynamic zero-COVID policy’ even as many
nations across the world pursue a herd immunity-based approach. Xi’s firm
stance on the policy also shows that he is not made insecure by the display of
public anger against the regime. “…The public discontent is fragmented and does
not amount to a momentum that can impact Xi,” said Yang Chaohui, a lecturer of
political science at Peking University.

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“Looking at the
number of people from across different backgrounds who spoke up and the
intensity of their expression, this has been the most massive public display of
anger since Xi came to power in 2012,” Chaohui told Reuters.

According to China’s
COVID policy, every infected person, symptomatic or not, is required to go into
quarantine. At the beginning of the pandemic, this move had wide public
support. But now, residents are fed-up and are pushing back.