On Wednesday, it was announced that Shanghai Disneyland will once again open its doors. This means that long-awaited entertainment is again on the agenda for the Chinese. It’s like putting two lines under the answer: The protesters in China have been heard. Only a week after historic protests in Chinese cities rolled across television screens around the world, the most restrictive measures are being lifted. It has not been put into words, but in practice this means that China is leaving behind its zero tolerance towards the virus. Already in November, changes were announced, but when it happens as quickly as this, there is little doubt that the protests led to this. Disneyland in Shanghai opens its doors again on Thursday this week Photo: ALY SONG / Reuters Can’t lock people in An important victory for the protesters is that escape routes and fire doors can no longer be closed. It was precisely this that set minds ablaze. The protesters claimed that ten people lost their lives when a fire broke out in a closed apartment block in Xinjiang, because they were locked inside. A memorial service for ten fire victims in Xinjiang turned into a demonstration in Beijing on 28 November. The demonstrators believed that the fire victims died because they were locked inside, and demanded an end to the strict covid measures Photo: THOMAS PETER / Reuters There will also be an end to forcibly sending people to state institutions if they have few or no symptoms. They can now be isolated in their own home. A video from Hangzhou has recently gone viral. It shows a man clinging to the sofa and kicking at two hazmat-clad people who want to take him away by force. Many Chinese have long had a far greater fear of staying in such places than getting sick with Covid. Poor hygiene, isolation, cramped quarters and poor access to food have been a deterrent. Health on the loose The end of strict measures now comes like pearls on a string.Finally, people can travel to other cities and provinces without being tested 48 hours before departure, and without having to be tested again on arrival. Two people wearing protective clothing on the road in Beijing as China puts the strictest infection prevention measures behind it. Photo: NOEL CELIS / AFP Emergency closures must only take place in clearly defined areas. There will be an end to shutting down entire cities just because a case of covid has been discovered. If no new cases appear within five days, the shutdown must end. An important reason why the Chinese protested was that the measures went too far. Pharmacies are now no longer allowed to refuse people who want to buy fever and cold medicine. They have previously been referred to hospital to be tested for covid. Hospitals are also not allowed to reject critically ill people who cannot present a negative test. SMILE: Women in Shanghai pose for the photographer without a mask, the day after the strictest covid restrictions were lifted Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP Health app less in use A green code on the health app has been used everywhere in China, but it is has been heavily criticized for violating privacy. There have been cases of public abuse. In June, five civil servants in the city of Zhengzhou were punished for manipulating the health app to show red for a crowd of people who wanted to protest a banking scandal. The requirements to display the health app in public buildings cease. It is only if you are visiting a school, a nursery school, a hospital or a nursing home that you must show the green code. The infection control measures are not completely over, but the strictest ones have been canceled Photo: Mark Schiefelbein / AP Unwritten contract China is known for being an authoritarian regime, but there is nevertheless an unwritten contract between the people and the management. It is about the vast majority of people having to be satisfied for the Communist Party to have their blessing to rule the country. Many Chinese have been very satisfied with the country’s development. China has had a galloping economy and has eradicated extreme poverty. Young people have been given opportunities that previous generations could never have dreamed of. The country is developing infrastructure at a speed that is almost impossible to fathom, and a few years ago the country’s young people were predicted to have a far more promising future than young people in the USA. Therefore, many have also accepted that some voices are silenced. It has become increasingly clear under President Xi Jinping’s leadership that loyalty is the only thing accepted. A man looks into the camera at the train station in Shanghai, a few days after the city was marked by demonstrations Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP Danger on the way The dissolution of the Soviet Union is a chapter of horror and warning for both leaders and people in China. There is an understanding that stability is what is needed for the future to lie in the hands of the Chinese. And then the big question has always been: What happens when the Communist Party no longer delivers? What happens if the economy grinds to a halt, and if people’s dreams of a better life are not fulfilled? Then there is danger on the way. There are 1.4 billion people living in China. Even if the propaganda works to a large extent, it is still the case that many people have an opinion about the state of affairs. Now we have seen an example of what they are capable of when they demand to be heard. There is no shortage of protests in China. It happens all the time at the local level, but this time they were startlingly large, in many cities, and they were aimed at the central authorities. We haven’t seen that in decades. And that is a signal the Communist Party had to take seriously. China’s Communist Party is aware of the danger of frustration turning into a rebellion that spreads like wildfire. A man is laid to the ground during the demonstrations in Shanghai Photo: AP Next crossroads Now it had gone too far for most people to be satisfied. The measures have come at the expense of life and health, and people’s finances. Now that was enough. When the authorities now react by taking the people seriously, perhaps the balance has been restored. Perhaps the need in the depths of the people to cry out will subside when the strictest measures now cease. Maybe they have vented their frustration and are done with it. At the same time, there is a certain danger that more people will become infected, the health system will be overloaded, and people will become desperate. Such a quick and clear answer to the protesters that their demands will be upheld also has another important dimension: They may come to demand much more at the next crossroads. news’s correspondent Philip Lote was at the demonstration in Beijing
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The demonstrators in China have been heard – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
