In what is being described as the most significant political concession of President Xi Jinping's decade in power, the Chinese government has officially abandoned its stringent "Zero-COVID" strategy. Following a wave of unprecedented civil unrest that swept across major cities last month, the National Health Commission announced on Wednesday that mass testing will be scrapped and residents with mild symptoms will now be allowed to quarantine at home for the first time since the pandemic began.
The government's pivot is remarkably swift. Digital health codes, which once dictated every movement of 1.4 billion people, are being deactivated. However, the abrupt end of the policy has raised new fears. With low booster rates among the elderly and a healthcare system that has focused on quarantine rather than critical care, experts warn that China may face a massive wave of infections in the coming weeks.
While the policy has changed, the state's memory-holing of the dissent has already begun. Security forces have been deployed in large numbers at previous protest sites, and there are reports of "digital door-knocking," where police track down protesters using facial recognition and cell phone data. Dozens of students and activists remain in custody, facing charges of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble."
