[The Epoch Times, March 28, 2022]Recently, the number of local infections of the new coronavirus in Shanghai has exploded, and it has spread to neighboring provinces. On March 27, the official announced that “Pudong” and “Puxi”, which are divided by the Huangpu River, have been closed successively. The day before (26th), Wu Fan, a member of the expert group of the Shanghai Epidemic Prevention and Control Leading Group, also publicly denied the “closure of the city”. Does this turning point in the epidemic prevention strategy the next day indicate what happened between Beijing Central and Shanghai?
Shanghai epidemic out of control after Xi Jinping’s instructions
Since the outbreak of the CCP virus (COVID-19) for more than two years, the CCP has been insisting on strict measures to prevent the epidemic, which is different from the mild epidemic prevention strategy in other parts of the world, but it has obviously failed. Shanghai was once the only major first-tier city in mainland China that did not conduct nationwide testing, and its defense line has also been broken during this wave of epidemics. The number of new local infections reported in Shanghai from March 20 to 26 has exceeded 10,000, and most of them are asymptomatic. On the 27th, Shanghai added 50 new local confirmed cases and 3,450 asymptomatic infections. This is still official CCP data that may be withheld.
On the evening of the 27th, Shanghai officials announced that starting from the 28th, Shanghai will be bounded by the Huangpu River, and a new round of blockade and nucleic acid testing will be implemented in batches.
The leader of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping, gave instructions to the Standing Committee of the Politburo on the 17th, emphasizing that we should insist on dynamic clearing to control the epidemic. But he also called for “strive to achieve the greatest prevention and control effect at the least cost, and minimize the impact of the epidemic on economic and social development.”
According to Wu Fan, a member of the expert group of the Shanghai Epidemic Prevention and Control Leading Group, the reason why the city was not closed on the 26th was that if Shanghai stopped, it would “affect the economy of the entire country and the global economy.” This should be in line with the second half of Xi Jinping’s requirements. Perhaps it shows that Xi Jinping’s idea is difficult to realize.
In fact, the CCP’s anti-epidemic policy shows no signs of loosening, only claiming to do so at a minimal cost. In the eyes of the CCP, the price it wants to reduce may only be the economy. It can be seen from the community blockade that has never been relaxed, and the plight of the people after the blockade is not taken into account by the authorities.
Previously, although the city was not closed, there have been many chaos in Shanghai. Some nurses died after being refused treatment due to hospital emergency suspension; some infected people complained that no one was taking care of them after being admitted; Residents gather to protest…
This wave of epidemic has made Shanghai epidemic prevention expert Zhang Wenhong the focus of criticism, because he said on the 25th that “the entire exponential rise in transmission in Shanghai has been interrupted”, but the epidemic in Shanghai has not improved. As an authoritative figure in Shanghai’s epidemic prevention, Zhang Wenhong put forward the view of “coexisting with the virus” in line with the world at the end of July 2021. He is considered a relatively enlightened person. He was subsequently criticized by a group of figures with official background, including former Chinese health minister Gao Qiang.
On August 16, 2021, some CCP media reprinted a report that Li Qiang, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, visited Zhang Wenhong’s laboratory on August 2 for investigation. After that, Zhang Wenhong was silent for a while.
In response to the outbreak in Shanghai, Zhang Wenhong posted on Weibo on March 14 that Hong Kong “has accumulated a lot of experience in fighting the virus”, and he has “highly consistent” views with virology experts at the University of Hong Kong, that is, “the virus The virulence of the virus has been significantly reduced,” and “the severe disease rate and mortality rate are really lower than those of influenza.” Zhang Wenhong’s remarks have a strong sense of keeping in line with Hong Kong’s epidemic prevention.
Since the fifth wave of the epidemic broke out in Hong Kong, 7,039 people have died from the disease so far. But it has slowed down, with 8,037 new confirmed cases on the 27th, falling below 10,000 for two consecutive days.
Hong Kong has not announced the closure of the city. Under Beijing’s “zero pressure”, it has also carried out severe closure and control, but it has previously suspended compulsory testing for the whole people. The European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong released an investigation report on March 24, indicating that nearly 50% of foreign businessmen have determined or are planning to move out of Hong Kong.
Shanghai epidemic out of control or affect Li Qiang’s career?
At the Politburo meeting held on March 17, Xi Jinping emphasized that officials who have caused the epidemic to get out of control should be held accountable.
On March 17, Jilin Province officially announced that 16 officials and public officials were held accountable for their ineffective epidemic prevention and control. In Guangdong, six officials, including the deputy director of the Provincial Public Security Department, were dismissed from their posts on March 13 due to the outbreak of the epidemic at the Dongguan Detention Center.
This kind of accountability is actually a kind of blame-taking culture in the CCP’s officialdom. Up to now, no one in Shanghai officials has been held accountable for the out-of-control epidemic. It is still unknown what Li Qiang thought.
In recent years, Shanghai has been authorized by the central government to take the lead in reforming the management of super-large cities. Previously, Shanghai had been slow to implement the epidemic prevention model of closing the city and did not deal with officials. It was estimated by the outside world that Xi Jinping gave Li Qiang privileges and allowed trial and error, or Li Qiang dared to “innovate” and follow the international trend and did not follow up with the Xi Central Committee. instruction? Because some people familiar with the unspoken rules of the CCP’s officialdom once believed that Li Qiang had always adopted the policy of “listening to the experts” in Shanghai’s fight against the epidemic, which actually contradicted Xi Jinping’s emphasis on “the party controls everything”.
No matter what the reason, Shanghai officially announced that it would block the city by districts, indicating that Li Qiang finally couldn’t take it anymore. On the evening of the 27th, Li Qiang said at the Shanghai Epidemic Prevention and Control Conference that a new round of lockdown testing and screening was a “critical move”. He also said that “we must resolutely implement” Xi Jinping’s “important speeches and instructions,” and so on.
I noticed that the Fifth Inspection Team of the State Council of the Communist Party of China controlled by Li Keqiang has recently entered Shanghai to supervise the epidemic prevention work. On March 22, Li Qiang, Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, and Gong Zheng, Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and Mayor, had a “discussion” with Zhang Jiwen, the leader of the fifth inspection team and the deputy director of the General Administration of Customs.
The outbreak in Shanghai this time is out of control, and if it gets worse, it may affect the personnel affairs of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China this fall.
Li Qiang, Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, born in July 1959, is from Ruian, Zhejiang, and a member of the Political Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee. He served as Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee when Xi Jinping was in power in Zhejiang. The core figure of the “Zhijiang New Army”. In recent years, there have been rumors that he will rise to a higher level at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, be promoted to the Politburo Standing Committee, or even take over as prime minister.
Li Keqiang has admitted at the press conference of the two sessions this year that he will step down as prime minister next year. By convention, the position of prime minister is generally taken over by the current vice premier, unless Xi Jinping uses the 2021 revision of the NPC Organic Law for the first time to allow the NPC Standing Committee to appoint Li Qiang as vice premier in advance during the closing of the NPC. Another possibility for Li Qiang is to replace Han Zheng as the first deputy prime minister.
Infighting at the top of the CCP is currently taking place in an autocratic black box. Entering March, a list of the top 20 personnel to be finalized at the Beidaihe meeting of the Communist Party of China in a few months should already be in tense wrestling. As a close associate of Xi, Li Qiang’s every move was targeted by political enemies within the party.
The so-called “anti-epidemic war” directed by Xi Jinping himself is becoming an important part of the infighting in Zhongnanhai. Once Li Qiang makes a mistake, the so-called “system confidence” boasted by the CCP through epidemic prevention will be revealed.
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Responsible editor: Sun Yun#