The Chinese government is now relaxing its draconian
mandates regarding COVID. It is primarily due to the negative international
coverage of China’s strict lockdowns and continuous COVID testing.
Country-wide protests against the lockdowns, harsh
government rules on travel, and COVID testing; have played a significant part
in Xi Jinping easing his “Zero Tolerance” policy against the virus.
The protesters were made up mostly of members of the Z-generation
and organized mainly by University students. That resulted in many Universities
throughout China being shut down - for a time - but they have now reopened.
The Z-generation grew up on social media, and they used it
effectively to lampoon Xi Jinping and his authoritative grip on the communist
party. The government tried its best to scrub the internet of all satirical
comments. That, however, resulted in the protesters using VPNs to communicate
on Instagram and other social media networks to continue organizing and voicing
their opinions against Xi Jinping and the communist government.
“The communist party,” as one University
student shouted, “is made up of ninety-one million members out of a population
of 1.4 billion people….” The local authorities
grabbed her at that point and confiscated her phone, which was never returned
to her.
Protests are common in America, but in China, it is a big
deal, and I say more power to the peaceful demonstrators fighting for democracy
in China. Most generation Z here admire America, especially our freedom to
voice our opinions satirically against political leaders and our ability to
demonstrate against perceived injustices.
I am happy to report that my students whose families live
within the city limit of the school are allowed to go home today for a
long-needed weekend. But unfortunately, the students whose families live
outside the city must remain at the school, I included, but as you can see,
some progress was made, which is a good thing for our peace of mind.
Always with love from Suzhou, China
Thomas F O'Neill
Email: introspective7@hotmail.com
WeChat - Thomas_F_ONeill
U.S. Voice mail: (410) 925-9334
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