[Frontline Interview]Tourists trapped in Tibet rushed out of hotel to protest | Epidemic |

[The Epoch Times, August 22, 2022](The Epoch Times reporters Zhao Fenghua and Gu Xiaohua interviewed and reported) China’s Tibet city of Shigatse announced the closure of the city on August 8, and it has been more than two weeks since then. A large number of tourists were stranded in the area due to the sudden lockdown. On August 22, some tourists rushed out of the hotel, took to the streets to protest, and wanted to go home.

At 16:00 on August 22, the Tibetan official said at the press conference on the epidemic that from 0:00 to 14:00 on the 22nd, there were 9+124 new local CCP virus (new crown virus, COVID-19) infections in Tibet, including 9 confirmed cases and 124 cases. cases of asymptomatic infection. As of 24:00 on August 21, Tibet has designated 524 high-risk areas and 289 medium-risk areas, with a total of 4,427 tourists stranded there. The actual situation is yet to be verified.

Tourists take to the streets to protest against going home

(Group chat screenshot)

An epidemic broke out in Tibet in early August, and Shigatse City announced the closure of the city on August 8. Ms. Lin, a Guangdong resident, went on a self-driving tour in Jilong Town, Shigatse, with her friends, and was banned from the local area since August 7. In an interview with The Epoch Times reporter on August 22, Ms. Lin said that the tourists rushed out of the hotel to protest and wanted to go home.

Ms. Lin said: “Because I’ve been locked here all the time, I’m anxious every day, and my mind will be affected. Then, my body will be very sore, and your psychology will reach a limit, which will affect your physiology. approaching a limit.

“And then, there are still many elderly people here who need insulin, and some children. They will all have certain problems, psychological and physical problems. There will definitely be some.”

Ms. Lin said that the authorities’ policies have been changing rapidly, leaving tourists at a loss.

She said: “We won a green channel from the local government. After three days of three inspections (nucleic acid testing), we were transferred to a low-risk area. Today (22nd) is the last day of the three-day three inspections. It should be the date of our transfer. But at noon, the leaders came to the news, because some experts from the State Council came to the city, questioning this action, let us continue to wait in place, and our emotions collapsed.

“So many tourists who have stayed here have been stranded for 16 days, and they have accidentally become stranded tourists in high-risk areas, and we are not quarantined. At present, it is a policy that was finally won, and then I don’t know. Why, it was cancelled. Our group collapsed collectively. Tourists here, everyone walked out of the hotel room and went to the street to protest. “

Tourists trapped in Tibet and unable to go home due to the epidemic blockade took to the streets to protest. (provided by respondents)

Tourists in danger have no way to seek help

Ms Lin said that in addition to protesting against the authorities’ changes, tourists were also concerned about the risk of infection by staying there.

She said: “The next policy today, which can be directly overturned tomorrow, loses credibility to our people, and we don’t believe it anymore. The second point is, we don’t want to stay here because it’s not safe here, No sterilization is done, and when the staff delivers meals, that meal is at risk of infection.

“Why? When the local epidemic was high a few days ago, the lunch boxes they sent had no lids. It was just a plastic bag of lunch boxes that were brought in like this, because it was something that went into the mouth and was a high-risk area. In the past few days, there are actually new infected people every day. Where do the infected people come from? It is from this control area. I often hear ambulances, that is, the ambulance is in the hotel next door, directly taking people away. Pulled away.

“A bigger hidden danger is that these people who turned positive did not have a re-examination and were directly transferred to the Fangcang shelter hospital. A temporary shelter hospital was built here. It was found here, and 2/3 of the positive ones were misdiagnosed. What about these people who are misdiagnosed?”

Ms. Lin said that a pregnant tourist contracted the virus at the hotel, causing another pregnant woman to worry about the safety of herself and her child.

She said: “Everyone will be a little emotional, and they all recorded videos. One pregnant woman was very emotional, because a pregnant woman in our side was diagnosed, and it was diagnosed after 15 days of isolation, so the other pregnant woman was particularly excited. , quarreled with government officials.

“After the pregnant woman was infected, she has been living in a relatively simple makeshift hospital here. Her husband was particularly worried because she was only three months pregnant, and there was no condition to transfer her to a hospital in the city, so Her husband was also very excited.”

Ms Lim said the authorities were pressuring tourists to try to block the news. “The leader of the city called me today, and what he meant was to tell me not to make trouble.”

“He (government official) said, it’s not that we don’t want to send you away, it’s that we can’t send you away, why? Next door, we are adjacent to Yunnan, Sichuan, and Qinghai, and we don’t want to accept you. This is an official government statement. Who is right, what is the specific reason, whether it is political, social or economic reasons, let us stay here, I dare not make random guesses. But the current fact is that (they) have used up everything The method does not let tourists go. And there is no clear policy.

“It’s not what it looked like in the press conference, it’s not at all. But we have no way for the outside world to hear and see our current situation.”

Ms. Lin said that the stranded tourists felt desperate and had nowhere to ask for help, so they began to protest collectively.

She said: “In the process of trying to get home, I also contacted many local government workers. What they said to me the most was that they hoped that I would understand and support local policies, and they would give you some high hats and rise to a certain level. High. I say these words from the perspective of their national cadres. However, I am a small citizen, and I am in a position to fight for my own interests. I feel that I cannot understand what you are saying. Why? The epidemic prevention policy is indeed It is not in place, and it harms the interests of the general public.

“Staying here without moving is in exchange for my personal freedom, and it’s not one day or two days, it’s one month, maybe two months, what kind of damage will it cause to my life? Let’s not talk about economics. Injuries, ranging from physical to psychological, to all aspects of harm, are unpredictable. You can’t just understand the policy with a simple sentence, and you can write off all of it? This is a kind of emotional and moral kidnapping.

“I deeply feel that life is precious. But freedom is my life now. If I was particularly emotionally broken down, I would even go on a hunger strike or jump off a building. That’s the kind of thought that will appear in my mind, really It feels hopeless.”

“After you made a lot of calls, that is, all the calls from the town to the city to the district to the State Council, all the operators told you that we don’t know the policy here, you wait, or call You have another phone call, you need to know it. After you know it for a while, it’s like an endless loop, a ball is kicked around, it’s that kind of feeling, it’s very desperate, because your voice can’t make others I heard that no one knows your current situation, it is that kind of desperate mood.”

Ms. Lin believes that the current epidemic prevention and “respect for life” have run counter to.

She said: “I think that epidemic prevention is (should) be based on the most basic principle of respecting life and the right to life. It’s not respecting life anymore. Because many of us lost their lives because of epidemic prevention, (epidemic prevention) is no longer issued on the basis of respecting life and human rights, and it has put the cart before the horse.”

“So now, you ask me to understand your policy again and let us cooperate. I don’t understand or cooperate,” she said.

Responsible editor: Gao Jing#