April 12, 2022
On April 11, 2022, the Department ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and all family members from the Consulate General Shanghai consular district due to a surge in COVID-19 cases and the impact of restrictions related to the PRC’s response.
The U.S. State Department, as a modified Shanghai shutdown continues.
- PRC = People’s Republic of China — the leading Chinese communist party.
- The PRC’s response to the U.S. evacuating some of its staff: “The United States should immediately stop attacking China’s epidemic prevention policy, stop political manipulation with the epidemic issue and stop smearing and discrediting China.”
- Government censorship makes confirming reliable information from China very difficult; the PRC also requires social media companies to censor their content.
- Leaked video shows Shanghai residents breaking into supermarkets — but police denied the event occured in Shanghai, according to the Associated Press.
- The Chinese government reports: “24,659 new cases through midnight Monday, including 23,387 with no symptoms. That included 23,346 in Shanghai, only 998 of whom had symptoms.” The government reports no deaths.
- Why It Matters: Health officials and analysts alike have raised questions about the wisdom of China’s “zero-tolerance COVID policy,” both practically and politically. “The struggle in China’s richest city is an embarrassment during a politically sensitive year when President Xi Jinping is expected to try to break with tradition and award himself a third five-year term as leader of the ruling Communist Party.” (Associated Press)
by Jenna Lee,
