Zhengzhou, the iPhone manufacturing hub, has locked down one of its most-populated districts to tame a COVID-19 flare-up, with creeping restrictions throughout China underscoring the constant threat of disruption companies face while the country sticks to “zero COVID.”
Almost 1 million residents of Zhongyuan District were ordered to stay at home starting yesterday, except for when they need to undergo COVID-19 testing, and non-essential businesses have been shut, a government notice said. The wider restrictions follow the lockdown of some neighborhoods last week, catching many people by surprise after officials had said there would not be a citywide lockdown.
IPhone maker Foxconn Technology Group’s plants are not located in the district that has been locked down. Representatives for the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg News.
Photo: AFP
The city in Henan Province reported six new local cases for Sunday, down from a recent peak of 40 on Oct 9. Nationwide, cases declined to 697, the lowest in two weeks, as outbreaks in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang came under control. Beijing posted 13 new cases, and Shanghai had 32.
China is sticking to the “zero COVID” pillars of lockdowns and mass testing to tame its biggest flare-up in two months, despite the heavy cost.
The policy has dragged on growth in the world’s second-biggest economy and roiled global supply chains as important manufacturing hubs — from vehicles to phones and Christmas trees — contend with the disruption of shutdowns and reopenings.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Sunday signaled no looming change to the approach, disappointing investors who had hoped for some signs of loosening. During a speech opening the twice-a-decade National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing, he said the strict rules protect people’s lives, although Xi avoided mentioning the economic toll.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict growth of just 3.3 percent this year, the second-weakest pace in more than four decades.
The stringent COVID-19 curbs have also been stoking public discontent. Censorship went into overdrive late last week, with words such as “Beijing” and “bridge” restricted on social media platforms like Sina Weibo after two banners criticizing Xi and zero COVID were displayed on a bridge in the capital.
One read: “We want food, not PCR [polymerase chain reaction] tests. We want freedom, not lockdowns and controls.”
While China’s most important cities have so far avoided large-scale lockdowns, officials have instead been quietly halting a growing list of activities.
Several schools in Shanghai have suspended in-person classes as the fear of infection spread grows, according to parents and social media posts. The port city of Tianjin last week announced a lockdown of one district and the southern megacity of Guangzhou shut schools in one area.
Sitting in a lotus position, four men weave glittering beads through gold thread on an organza sheet, carefully constructing a wedding dress that would soon wow crowds at Paris Fashion Week. For once, the French couturier behind the design, Julien Fournie, is determined to put these craftsmen in the spotlight. His new collection, which showed in Paris on Tuesday, was entirely made with fabrics from Mumbai. He said that a sort of “design imperialism” means that French fashion houses often play down that their fabrics are made outside France. “The houses which don’t admit it are perhaps afraid of losing their clientele,” Fournie
A court in Thailand sentenced a 27-year-old political activist to 28 years in prison on Thursday for posting messages on Facebook that it said defamed the country’s monarchy, while two young women charged with the same offense continued a hunger strike after being hospitalized. The court in the northern province of Chiang Rai found that Mongkhon Thirakot contravened the lese majeste law in 14 of 27 posts for which he was arrested in August last year. The law covers the king, queen and heirs, and any regent. The lese majeste law carries a prison term of three to 15 years per incident for
Over a few hours under gray skies, dozens of combat planes and helicopters roar on and off the flight deck of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, in a demonstration of US military power in some of the world’s most hotly contested waters. MH-60 Seahawk helicopters and F/A-18 Hornet jets bearing pilot call signs such as “Fozzie Bear,” “Pig Sweat” and “Bongoo” emit deafening screams as they land in the drizzle on the Nimitz, which is leading a carrier strike group that entered the South China Sea two weeks ago. US Rear Admiral Christopher Sweeney, who is commanding the group, said the tour
A gunman killed 10 people and wounded 10 others at a Los Angeles-area ballroom dance club following a Lunar New Year celebration, setting off a manhunt for the suspect in the latest mass shooting tragedy in an American community. Captain Andrew Meyer of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said Sunday that the wounded were taken to hospitals and their conditions range from stable to critical. He said the 10 people died at the scene in the city of Monterey Park. Meyer said people were “pouring out of the location screaming” when officers arrived at around 10:30 pm Saturday. He said officers then
RSS