Posted on Nov 30, 2022
China's lockdown protests and rising COVID leave Xi Jinping with '2 bad options'
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Responses: 3
Xi Jinping doesn't strike me as the kind of guy to quickly follow his father's advice.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."But can Beijing self-correct eventually?
And some see potentially worrying signs about decision-making within the leadership.
Officials admit that "dynamic zero COVID" involves some inconvenience and pain, but argue that dropping it would cause even worse trouble. That doesn't explain why the authorities failed to shift away from it earlier, or make use of the time it bought them to increase vaccination rates and prepare for the eventual reopening of the country.
Gallagher suspects the party's flat-footedness has to do with how Xi has consolidated power and created an environment in which it's become increasingly risky to object to his policy choices.
"The thing that was remarkable about China was the ability for the government to self-correct," she says. "And that's totally lost."
..."But can Beijing self-correct eventually?
And some see potentially worrying signs about decision-making within the leadership.
Officials admit that "dynamic zero COVID" involves some inconvenience and pain, but argue that dropping it would cause even worse trouble. That doesn't explain why the authorities failed to shift away from it earlier, or make use of the time it bought them to increase vaccination rates and prepare for the eventual reopening of the country.
Gallagher suspects the party's flat-footedness has to do with how Xi has consolidated power and created an environment in which it's become increasingly risky to object to his policy choices.
"The thing that was remarkable about China was the ability for the government to self-correct," she says. "And that's totally lost."
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