TAIPEI, Taiwan ( Associated Press) — China’s digital censors swiftly removed the label of “the next five years” on Monday as online conversations turned to alleged remarks by a Communist Party secretary in Beijing that the country’s capital will face the pandemic in the next five years. normalize the prevention measures.
Beijing Communist Party chief Cai Qi made the remarks in a report on the city’s management on Monday morning.
Party congresses are held in the city every five years before the National Formation Congress, scheduled for this autumn. In these meetings, the members usually review the work of the last five years and announce the objectives for the following period.
“Over the next five years, with perseverance and without hesitation, Beijing will do a good job of standardizing epidemic prevention controls,” the official said, according to a cached version of the comments reported in the world’s leading media outlet, Beijing Daily. Party in the Communist Capital
The city will “regularly implement high-quality PCR testing and controls at key points, rigorously inspecting entrances into residential communities, workplaces and public institutions,” it said.
The current edition of the Beijing Daily no longer contains the phrase “in the next five years”. The “next five years” tag was removed on Weibo. A search of the term on the social media platform brought up a notice that the topic cannot be displayed “in accordance with relevant laws, regulations and policies”, a common error message for topics removed by the app’s censors.
Since the Omicron-driven surge in cases in April, China has largely increased the frequency of testing. In Beijing, people now have to test negative within the past 72 hours to access public places such as restaurants and offices.
The government has given a call to open thousands of diagnostic testing centers across the city.
During the pandemic, China has stuck to its “zero COVID” strategy. The country resorts to mass testing, contact tracing and strict quarantine to prevent the virus from spreading widely among the population.
