A compelling case for pragmatism
When Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Macau, the world’s gambling capital, the air was thick with anticipation. Macau,often dubbed the “Las Vegas of the East,” is much more than a beacon of wealth and opulence.
Some residents in the Chinese city of Xi’an, where a lockdown has been enforced in the wake of an ongoing Covid-19 resurgence, have said that they do not have enough food, even as officials insist there are adequate supplies, the BBC reported.
On December 23, more than 13 million people in the city in Shaanxi province were ordered to stay home last week as authorities sought to battle the Covid outbreak.
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People have not been allowed to leave except under limited circumstances, and cannot go out to buy food.
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Many have said on social media that they are running out of supplies, despite city authorities delivering free groceries.
The lockdown entering its ninth day on Friday as authorities battle the worst outbreak China has seen in months, the BBCreport said.
China’s adoption of a strict zero-Covid strategy saw the city closing bus stations, cancelling outward bound flights, and conducting millions of tests in Shaanxi province.
The restrictions initially allowed only one person per household to leave home once every two days to buy supplies.
However, the measures were intensified on Monday and residents were barred from leaving their homes except to get tested for Covid, the report said.
Since then, people have taken to the Weibo social media platform to ask for help acquiring food and other essentials, claiming they have yet to receive their free supplies from the government.
“I heard other districts are gradually getting supplies, but I didn’t get anything. My compound bans us from going out. I ordered some groceries online four days ago, but no sign of getting it at all. I haven’t been able to get any vegetables for days,” read one comment posted on Friday.
Another person said: “The allocation is so uneven. The district I’m based in hasn’t got anything. We are told to group up and order together. The price is very high as well.”
One video taken this week which has been circulating online shows residents in one Xi’an compound arguing heatedly with police over the lack of food, the report said.
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