China’s Fake Anti-Lockdown Protests, A Failed Color Revolution

Late last November, several fringe group of anti-lockdown protests happened across China, dubbed “the A4 paper protests” hyped by western media; led by western-backed Chinese right-wing violent QAnon anti-lockdown/anti-vaxers, supported by Chinese western-backed medical industrial complex and pro-western elites, together they forced the government to abandon the “dynamic zero-COVID” policy. This has been no more than an orchestrated western-backed color revolution, and a Chinese right-wing riot for their selfish agenda, that does not represent the majority of the Chinese and World’s opinion.

China’s successful anti-COVID campaign, so who’s against It?

Since the Wuhan outbreak on December, 2019, China adopted the “Dynamic Zero-COVID” policy, included: mass testing, contact tracing, lockdown and makeshift hospitals for every patients, that had quelled more than 100 outbreaks across the country for the past three years, even including a large-scale outbreak that spread to more than 20 provinces and cities, such as: the Shanghai outbreak and lockdown of March-June, 2022 (See 5/26/2022 Lee Siu Hin: My Shanghai Lockdown Life, Challenge and Community Spirit in Lockdown Shanghai at Socialist China).

With this remarkable effort, China was able to avoid more than few million deaths, and avoided the infection of hundreds of millions of people, and has increased the average life expectancy of the Chinese people for the past three years. China achieved the highest economic growth rate in the world, and enjoyed stability and safety across the country.

Chinese governments from central from the top, provincial and municipal levels to the local, putting people’s lives at first, have the willingness and ability to concentrate their efforts to fight the epidemic. China has built a strong grassroots network capable of quickly and effectively mobilizing Communist Party of China (CPC) members, medical personnel, People’s Liberation Army (PLA), community workers, businesses and volunteers. The masses of the people demonstrated great resilience and social responsibility in fighting the virus, and supported their neighbor and communities.

A medical doctor and activist says:” China’s GDP has grown faster than that of the US for each of the first two years of the pandemic and the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) predicts that the same will be true for 2022, 2023 and 2024! Lives have been saved – in fact 1/4 of humanity has been protected from the virus, historically unprecedented. And the economy has done better than the US! Is China’s performance without setbacks, problems and sacrifices?”

Of course, “is it a far better outcome than we have had in the US or any other major industrial economy?” he concluded.

No doubt China’s “Dynamic Zero-COVID” policy will affect certain economic sectors; however, most working class are well protected and not affected; for the past three years, there’re almost no massive layoffs, no inflations, no bankruptcy, no lost home and homeless due to the pandemic, that’s what I had been experienced for the past three years. (For more information, read my “Lee Siu Hin Journey to China: My China Activism Factfinding & Solidarity Working Trip” series).

Over the past three years, based on the severity of different COVID variants that attackes China, it had many periods of looser policy and periods of stricter policy depending on where you live in China, you are either “lucky” or “unlucky” in that you could face no-lockdown/mass-testing, or lockdown for few months/daily testing.

Last month, due to the pressure from well-planned and funded western-backed anti-lockdown protestors, social elites and medical industrial complex, Chinese government announced to scale-back the “dynamic zero COVID” policy, China begin optimizing the precise COVID prevention and control measures, and issued the “920” rules (lists of 20 new rules) and added another 10 new ones at early December, dropping contact tracing, lockdown, makeshift hospitals and massive testing, shifting the anti-pandemic responsibility from government to the individual.

But China’s “Freedom Day” didn’t happen, instead the massive outbreaks quickly happened across the country.

The Much Waited Chinese Right Wings Riots

In China, who wants to condemn the very successful anti-COVID policy and “open up” the county? The economic elites who had been hard hit by China’s anti-COVID policy (or middle-class/business affected by U.S.-led sections and trade war against China, but only want to blame everything on their country). Then, who are these elites, business and middle-class? According to the economist they’re mostly from the service sectors:

1. Restaurant, bar, entertainment, cinema and KTV industry
2. Transportation industry
3. Tourism and hospitality industry
4. Financial market
5. International trades (especially trade with U.S.-western countries)
6. On-line industry
7. Pharmaceutical industry
8. Real estate

While some are correct to argue millions of workers from the restaurants will be laid-off due to the lockdown, but the health and jobs of hundreds of millions of Chinese industrial workers had been saved.

The recent protests, mostly behind by eight-category of people listed above, were absolutely NOT the reason the recent round of relaxed policies were announced. Mario Cavolo who works and lives in China says, “The new round of 20 relaxed policies were announced many days before the protests began. The protests were understandable and served as an important passionate confirming nudge to the govt that the policies needed to be relaxed. But the govt already knew this and had already begun relaxing them substantially.” Immediately after the November protests, “the govt moved along the process more quickly as an act of the govt listening to the people and preventing further unrest.”

The “protests”, and doesn’t exist “protest political prisoners”; are mostly not supported and are condemned by the majority of the Chinese public, the “protests” twisted by western medias in an effort to demonize China on her successful COVID19 policy.

An American teacher friend of my working in Wuhan, China for the past several years, who experienced the Wuhan lockdown of January-March, 2020, never got infected but finally got COVID after the opening up last month. He is very supportive of China’s policies while being annoyed by the long lockdown and has been very angry about the student anti-lockdown protesters from his campus, his two weeks long eye-witness discussion between us at the Wechat:

“Those protests are the exception not the rule, they involve small numbers of people, and are an attempt to undermine institutions when springboarded back into China via unblocked US media. The positive side is that the pandemic control measures are being optimized and localized.

The system of governance is reflexive, resilient, and responsive. Western analysts think that it is a house of cards and inflexible.

I would also consider how the organization can and will likely respond to these kinds of events. On campus, class monitors stand between the school administration and students. There are also party branches among students, faculty, and staff. Campuses are hotbeds of liberalism but have been experiencing an explosion of recruitment over the past several years. So I expect the ideological campaign to heat up, with the liberals exposed it will make it easier to engage in political struggle.

Off campus, neighborhood committees and district-wide bodies will likely take the lead in optimizing pandemic controls as well as in the ideological campaign.

Expats tend to be anti-communist and even if they are proficient in the language are all about promoting western liberalism. I always find it baffling when I meet expats with more time in China than me, who speak the language and still are clueless about democratic centralism, how the organization operates, and adopt a historical nihilist attitude.

The way CNN is hyping those demos and playing up the anti-CPC/Xi content pisses me off.” (11/27/2022)

“I am glad they are exposed. I see those types everyday at work, grad students who see themselves as the new mandarins, who see doing research as merely a stepping stone to a good job and fat paycheck, and who ignore the big picture of who pays for them to study and do research. Selfish, competitive, and cynical….

… CNN has been posting stories about campus unrest for several weeks now…to date I have not seen any manifestations of it on the campus where I work.

They are opportunistically trying to exploit the general impatience we all feel with the pandemic controls and the intrusive disruptions.

the minute I see stuff with themes of free speech, democracy, etc I feel like barfing

its weird reading posts on Linkedin from expats with thirty years or more expressing concerns about the Current situation or Stories on the sixth tone about how the pandemic controls are affecting people’s livelihoods.”(11/27/2022)

“getting crazy in university. After the protests the leaders relaxed covid controls and now we have a major outbreak on campus.

students are scared and trying to leave to go back to thier hometowns.

off campus, people are scared and the streets are empty…..

….. on campus students are pissed off at the protesters and the ring leaders for the more unruly demos got reported to the administration.

seems to me like there is a lot of quiet support for the aggressive covid strategy.” (12/6/2022)

“interesting today. My TA showed me a video of several hundred students protesting for freedom and human rights in front of the main admin building at the campus. Their demand was for the university to cancel in person exams so they could go home early.

the person who started the wechat discussion group (organized the protest) is a first year undergrad…

not like the other demos which focused on excessive covid controls.

the group leaders were promoting waving blank paper etc..

the president of university spoke to the students during thier demo

I think regular people on my street are not very sympathetic to the students.

well I think the ordinary folks would dearly love to whip student asses.” (12/8/2022)

The Chinese elite liberals don’t care about the working poor. They are just exploiting social issues for their own gain. Foxconn Zhengzhou factory’s much hype-by-the western media “protests”. When the COVID outbreak in the factory, the government require company to take care the workers; while tens of thousands of full-times workers got protonation decide to stay, another tens of thousands of part-time workers doesn’t. With fear of getting infected and no lockdown benefits, they correctly choose to break down the gate and walk back to home. Foxconn is not mainland Chinese company; it’s a Taiwan company with very close connection with U.S. It’s a labor issue, but certain not a “labor unrest” or even “labor uprising” U.S. AFL-CIO claims.

Chinese Ambassador Lu Shaye from France, at his December 14 2022 meeting with French journalists, says Chinese people have the right to express dissatisfaction and complaints, which is normal. Through these parades, the government can understand the wishes and demands of the people. “We always adhere to the supremacy of the people and adhere to the principle that “the government responds to the people’s voice”. But this time, “external forces quickly seized the opportunity to conduct political manipulation. We can clearly smell the color revolutions that have frequently occurred in developing countries in recent years. What I said is based on evidence, and some Chinese people have been bought by external forces.”

“Q (French journalists): By whom?

Answer {Chinese Ambassador Lu Shaye): Outsiders.

Q: Who exactly?

A: I can’t be specific. It is the external anti-China forces. Some people have done analysis on social media in China, and they even point out who is being manipulated because these people are instigating and instigating on social media. For example, the “White Paper Parade”, although it is white, is also a color revolution. Because white is also a color.

Question: People marched with blank papers because they were bought by foreign anti-China forces? Do you mean that?

Answer: That’s for sure. Otherwise, an ordinary parade could not have such a serious meaning. I have noticed that the French media have exaggerated their reports, saying that this is the largest parade since 1989. In fact, this has nothing to do with the political turmoil in 1989. Someone deliberately connected the two, and you can see their attempt.

As I said just now, the Chinese government always puts the people at the top of its mind. Once the people have expectations and demands, the Chinese government will respond quickly. This is why the central government requires local governments to accurately implement the 20 measures. Today, China’s National Health Commission proposed 10 targeted optimization measures, so that local governments have more confidence in better implementing the previous 20 measures. This is also generally welcomed by the people, and the demonstrations also disappeared.

Even if the recent demonstrations were not instigated and initiated by external anti-China forces, at least they were used by them. These anti-China forces always try to politicize the demonstrations. As I said in my opening remarks, no country is perfect and no government has flaws. For us, all we have to do is correct the shortcomings. And external forces want to destroy China. There is an essential difference between the two.”

(12/14/2022 Memorandum of Exchange between Ambassador Lu Shaye and the French Association of Diplomatic Correspondents; only in Chinese and French http://fr.china-embassy.gov.cn/fra/zfzj/202212/t20221214_10990095.htm)

人间正道是沧桑 “what kind of good person you want when the moment has changed”

When I left China returning to U.S. for the “Sanctions: A Wreaking Ball in a Global Economy” national speaking tour on November 29, China was still under strict “dynamic zero-COVID” policy, the street was safe and I personally didn’t know anyone who got COVID; but as of December 21 when I returned to China, almost everyone I know had been infected.

Most people in China are now very angry about the anti-lockdown protesters, online QAnon celebrities, and the western-backed elite doctors who advise government to falsely advocate “quick opening up-get infected and move on-COVID will be over by summer, 2023” deceptions, with promoting expensive U.S. vaccines/COVID treatments to China.

The “lockdown ending big party” didn’t happen; instead, millions of people got infected every day, never seem in China before. The current outbreaks proofs that for the past 3 years, Chinese government did a right thing protect people’s lives from get infected. Because China has been very safe and comfortable for the past 3 years from outside disasters, living like a beautiful flowers in a greenhouse; pro-western right wing online opinion celebrities and experts for their own selfish agendas, successfully exploited public frustration from the lockdown.

Now the negative impact of easing China’s lockdown and “dynamic zero-COVID” is clear, now the western countries are looking forward to the large-scale death from the COVID in China, because only in this way can they make their millions of deaths seem plausible. It’s a pity they miscalculated, online blog “Mars Phalanx ABC” argues, “China has a high vaccine penetration rate, virus variants have weakened toxicity, and Chinese people have a high awareness of mask protection. In addition, domestic special medicines are in place. Currently, fever and cold medicines are being produced overtime. The situation that happened in the United States will not happen.” (12/22/22 “If there is nothing to be courteous about, there must be demons when things go wrong; who knows what kind of medicine is sold in the United States”  https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Zgj_GAa15ILsyCEE40iDrQ)

China has a very strong social support network organized by CPC to the street level, they listen to the local residents’ appeal to give up holidays to overtime taking care patients and coordinate medicines to the patients, working restlessly sacrifice everything for the people, even many of them had been infected with high temperature.

Many pharmaceutical chains and community clinics are giving away free ibuprofen for those who needed, “Recently, ibuprofen has become a hot commodity. Just when everyone was looking for medicines everywhere, Wu Jing, general manager of Ningxia Tongren Pharmaceutical Chain Co., Ltd., distributed 50,000 ibuprofen tablets in the company’s inventory to Huinong District, Shizuishan, Ningxia for free. The kindness of the masses warmed the whole city.” (12/22/22 China Daily “50,000 tablets of ibuprofen are given away for free! This pharmacy is so heartwarming” https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/763fjELqyb1UBts684-zqA).

When the challenge comes, it’s also the testing time for the humanity; and most believes China will overcome the latest challenges.

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Lee Siu Hin, a Chinese-American immigrant activist from Los Angeles, CA, is the founder and national coordinator of the China-U.S. Solidarity Network (CUSN) and the National Immigrant Solidarity Network (NISN). He is a long-time community, labor, antiwar and immigrant rights activist for grassroots struggle. He’s also a long-time Pacifica Radio KPFK Los Angeles unpaid reporter and producer and war correspondent who has worked in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.

NISN, a grassroots-based national immigrant activist network; and CUSN, a  network of academia and community activists in both countries committed to building a China-U.S. grassroots activist dialogue.

Lee holds a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) and a Masters of Engineering (Aerospace) from California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, located in Pomona, CA.

He is currently working on community medical big data technology and a COVID-19 AI medical analytic platform for the inner-city community and the global south, travel between China and U.S.

His latest book “Capitalism on a Ventilator” co-published with Sara Flounders in September, 2020; Chinese edition released in January, 2022. Co-write “Sanctions: a wrecking ball in a global economy” in December, 2022. Documentary “Vaccine and Sanctions” on December, 2022