NEW DELHI: Communist Party officials are using decades-old tactics, along with some new ones, to quash China’s most widespread protests in decades, says thee New York Times.
Public security personnel and vehicles have blanketed potential protest sites. Police officers are searching some residents’ phones for prohibited apps. Officials are going to the homes of would-be protesters to warn them against illegal activities and are taking some away for questioning. And censors are scrubbing social media.
Xi Jinping is staying silent, intent on projecting business as usual. Yesterday, the People’s Daily featured his talks with the visiting Mongolian president and a front-page celebration of Xi’s decade in power, but did not mention the protests, China’s most widespread since the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement of 1989.
Analysis: Xi appears to be wagering that he can sap the protests’ momentum while the security services move in. After the swell of public dissent over tight Covid controls this weekend, recent public gatherings have been smaller.
Vaccines: China’s case numbers are high, but only 40 percent of those 80 or older have had booster shots. Officials said they would go door to door with vaccines and press those who are reluctant to give a reason.
Voices: Protesters are reacting to months of economic hardship, which has also upended global forecasts. Some young people said they had reached a “tipping point.”
