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As China continues to open up, more than 1000 people who had criticised the government’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak on social media had their accounts suspended or cancelled.
The social networking site Sina Weibo claims to have dealt with 12,854 breaches, including insults to professionals such as experts, intellectuals, and doctors, and to have permanently or temporarily banned 1120 accounts.
The draconian lockdowns, quarantine policies, and mass testing that the Communist Party government had mostly relied on the medical community to defend were abruptly abandoned last month, leaving a spike in new cases that have strained available medical resources.
The party has severe restrictions on free expression and does not permit any direct criticism.
Sina Weibo said in a statement that the company “will continue to increase the investigation and clean-up of all kinds of illegal content, and create a harmonious and friendly community environment for the majority of users.”
The majority of criticism has been directed at the zealous application of laws, such as the unrestricted travel bans that kept individuals cooped up in their houses for weeks at a time, sometimes without access to food or medical treatment.
The requirement that anyone who might have tested positive or had contact with such a person be kept in a field hospital for observation—where complaints about crowding, subpar food and unhygienic conditions were frequent—also sparked ire.
Eventually, the social and economic implications led to unusual mass protests in Beijing and other places, which may have influenced the party’s choice to relax the tightest regulations.
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According to a notification sent by five government ministries on Saturday, as part of the most recent revisions, China would also no longer prosecute individuals who are accused of disobeying border quarantine laws.
The notice said that individuals in custody will be released and seized assets will be returned.
According to the official China Daily newspaper website, the adjustments “were made after comprehensively considering the harm of the b ehaviours to the society, and aim to adapt to the new situations of the epidemic prevention and control”,.
With the beginning of the Lunar New Year travel rush, which is due to get under way in the coming days, China is dealing with an increase in cases and hospital admissions in major cities and is preparing for a further spread into less developed areas.
Authorities predict that domestic train and air travel will increase by two times over the same time last year, putting total numbers near to those of the 2019 holiday season prior to the pandemic, despite the fact that international flights are still being curtailed.
The Transportation Ministry urged people to take fewer travels and to attend fewer gatherings on Friday, especially if they include old people, pregnant women, young children and those with underlying medical concerns.
Vice Minister Xu Chengguang told reporters at a briefing that those using public transportation are also advised to wear masks and pay close attention to their personal cleanliness and health.
Jaw de Guzman is the content producer for Comms Room, a knowledge platform and website aimed at assisting the communications industry and its professionals.
