<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/fraud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fraudsters</a> may have stolen as much as $60 billion from the various <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/unemployment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unemployment</a> insurance programs enacted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lockdowns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lockdown</a>-era stimulus bills, according to a <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-105523.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Government Accountability Office.
State workforce agencies, which are responsible for administering unemployment programs, have officially reported $4.3 billion of fraud between April 2020 and June 2022. Another fraud measure, cases flagged by the Labor Department as potential fraud, could imply some $45 billion in fraudulent payments between March 2020 and April 2022. Extrapolating another lower-bound estimate from the agency, which said at least 7.6% of regular unemployment insurance payments were fraudulent, would imply a conservative estimate of $60 billion.
“Current measures and estimates do not reflect the full extent of fraud, but they do provide important insights on fraud risks,” according to a <a href="https://www.gao.gov/blog/how-prevalent-fraud-federal-programs-we-take-look-focusing-unemployment-insurance-oversight" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> from the Government Accountability Office. “And while fraud risks increased as a result of the pandemic, some will remain long after if not addressed.”
Some $878 billion was paid across all unemployment insurance programs between April 2020 and September 2022. “The unprecedented demand for benefits and the need to implement the new programs quickly increased the risk of financial fraud,” the agency continued.
Officials in the Department of Justice have been attempting to claw back the fraudulently obtained taxpayer funds. One example cited by the report noted a former state workforce agency employee who used others’ identities to submit nearly 200 fraudulent applications; the individual was ordered to pay $4.3 million in restitution and will spend over five years in prison. In another instance, an individual used stolen identities to submit at least 300 applications across the country and will spend more than 3 years in prison after paying $1.6 million.
Other brazen examples of unemployment insurance fraud include a rapper who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lamborghinis-rappers-and-the-new-york-jets-the-4-craziest-examples-of-covid-stimulus-fraud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">boasted</a> about his scheme in a music video, as well as multiple current and former IRS employees who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/current-former-irs-employees-took-thousands-in-fraudulent-covid-relief-spent-it-on-gucci-a-mercedes-and-trips-to-vegas-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">abused</a> their positions to gain access to the funds.
Broader tallies of misappropriated economic stimulus funds imply a much higher amount of lost resources. The Labor Department <a href="https://www.pandemicoversight.gov/spotlight/unemployment-insurance-fraud#:~:text=The%20Department%20of%20Labor's%20Office,work%2C%20that%20amount%20will%20increase." target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimates</a> that $163 billion in unemployment insurance benefits “could be improper, with a significant portion being attributed to fraud.” ID.me CEO Blake Hall <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shock-half-of-covid-19-unemployment-funds-may-have-gone-to-scammers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">predicted</a> that $400 billion, or half of the unemployment monies, were ultimately stolen.
House Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee issued multiple <a href="https://waysandmeans.house.gov/republican-leaders-request-hearing-on-unemployment-insurance-fraud/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requests</a> for hearings about the fraud over the past two years; Democrats have consistently <a href="https://waysandmeans.house.gov/democrats-vote-to-blatantly-ignore-greatest-theft-of-american-tax-dollars-in-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blocked</a> the requests to examine the extent of fraudulent activity, the lawmakers say.
“American families, whose wages have eroded under President Biden’s inflation crisis, have watched as hundreds of billions of their hard-earned tax dollars were lost to criminal activity and fraud because Democrats refused to acknowledge the problem and repeatedly rejected Republican efforts to put basic safeguards in place to protect against this activity,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire. “Congressional Democrats walked away from their oversight responsibilities of getting to the bottom of how this happened, what they could do to prevent it, and even how much has fully been lost, leaving criminals to profit off the backs of taxpayers.”

pile of 100 dollar notes on table on fire

Fraudulent Lockdown-Era Unemployment Payments May Amount To $60 Billion, Government Watchdog Says

Fraudulent Lockdown-Era Unemployment Payments May Amount To $60 Billion

COVID-19

Economy

Lockdowns

Stimulus

U.S.

Unemployment

Leftist New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Wednesday that she is resigning from her position because she does not have the stamina to seek re-election.
“I’m leaving, because with such a privileged role comes responsibility,&#8221; she said. &#8220;The responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not. I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple.”
Her term will end on February 7 and an election will be held on October 14.
Ardern was known for clamping down on the freedoms of people in her country while in office, including draconian pandemic lockdowns, gun bans, and advocating for regulating speech online.
Ardern held such fringe positions on the pandemic that she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dont-talk-to-your-neighbors-new-zealand-enters-nationwide-lockdown-over-single-covid-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener">authorized</a> a nationwide lockdown because one case had been reported in the country. “Don’t talk to your neighbors,&#8221; she said at the time. &#8220;Please keep to your bubble.”
The 42-year-old also rushed to seize a moment of political opportunity following a shooting several years ago when she <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-newzealand-shootout-ardern-guncontrol/new-zealand-bans-military-type-semi-automatic-weapons-used-in-mosque-massacre-idUSKCN1R205Z" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that the country would ban semi-automatic long guns and would force people to turn them in. New Zealand&#8217;s buyback program was a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-zealands-gun-buyback-was-a-total-flop-report-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">failure</a>.
Ardern faced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-zealand-prime-minister-slammed-for-comparing-free-speech-to-weapons-of-war-in-fact-evil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">condemnation</a> after she compared online speech to a weapon of war during a speech at the United Nations back in September.
“As leaders, we are rightly concerned that even those most light-touch approaches to disinformation could be misinterpreted as being hostile to the values of free speech we value so highly,” she claimed. “But while I cannot tell you today what the answer is to this challenge, I can say with complete certainty that we cannot ignore it. To do so poses an equal threat to the norms we all value.”
“After all, how do you successfully end a war if people are led to believe the reason for its existence is not only legal but noble?” she continued. “How do you tackle climate change if people do not believe it exists?”
“The weapons may be different but the goals of those who perpetuate them is often the same: To cause chaos and reduce the ability of others to defend themselves, to disband communities, to collapse the collective strength of countries who work together,” she added. “But we have an opportunity here to ensure that these particular weapons of war do not become an established part of warfare.”
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that New Zealand&#8217;s gun ban followed a shooting in Australia. It was a shooting in New Zealand.

Jacinda Ardern

Leftist New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Unexpectedly Resigns

COVID

General

New Zealand

World

New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, a hard-line supporter of lockdowns vis-à-vis the coronavirus, was caught on a hot mic insulting the leader of the opposition with nasty language.
The exchange during which Ardern insulted David Seymour was prompted by Seymour confronting her, asking if Ardern could “give an example of her making a mistake, apologizing for it properly and fixing it,” The Guardian <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/13/jacinda-arden-caught-on-hot-mic-calling-minor-opposition-party-leader-an-arrogant-prick" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Ardern initially responded by admitting that the public had suffered from her “managed isolation” plan, but as she sat down, turned to her deputy Grant Robertson and told him Seymour was “such an arrogant p****.”
Seymour asked the speaker to urge Ardern to apologize and withdraw the comment, but it was fruitless since Arden had left the chamber.
Seymour said later that Ardern had texted him to apologize. “[She] said ‘I apologize, it’s not something I should have said,’” he acknowledged. “She said, as my mum would say, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it.”
“I agree with the sentiment and it is all good as far as I am concerned,” he continued. “I just said, thank you and I hope you have a very merry Christmas. At the end of the day, it’s not the end of the world.”
In August 2021, Ardern authorized a nationwide lockdown after a 58-year-old man tested positive for the virus in Auckland. Ardern initiated a “level 4” lockdown, in which “essential services” were left unaffected but schools, offices, and businesses had to close.
“I want to assure New Zealand that we have planned for this eventuality. Going hard and early has worked for us before,” Ardern insisted.
“We ask people to stay two meters away from anyone you pass, stay local, and do not congregate,” she stated. “Don’t talk to your neighbors. Please keep to your bubble.”
In October 2021, Ardern smiled as she acknowledged creating two different classes of people with different levels of freedom depending on whether they were vaccinated.
The New Zealand Herald <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-delta-outbreak-new-traffic-light-system-all-you-need-to-know-about-todays-announcements/X7W2WC55EVXKH3NMNHIYPSVMGU/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Ardern had “announced the country would move into the new traffic light system when each District Health Board has 90 percent of its population with both doses of the vaccine.”
“So, you&#8217;ve basically said, this is gonna be like, well it&#8217;s almost like, and you probably don&#8217;t see it like this, [inaudible] two different classes of people, if you&#8217;re vaccinated or if you&#8217;re unvaccinated,” an interviewer prompted. “You have all these rights if you are vaccinated —&#8221;
“That it is what it is,” Ardern replied, smiling, “So, yep. Yep.”
Related:
 <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/dont-talk-to-your-neighbors-new-zealand-enters-nationwide-lockdown-over-single-covid-case/">‘Don’t Talk To Your Neighbors’: New Zealand Enters Nationwide Lockdown Over Single COVID Case</a>
<a href="https://dailywire.com/news/new-zealands-prime-minister-on-if-vaccine-certificates-are-about-creating-two-classes-of-people-yep/">New Zealand’s Prime Minister On If Vaccine Certificates Are About Creating Two Classes Of People: ‘Yep’</a>

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Gives COVID-19 Update

Hot Mic Catches New Zealand Prime Minister Calling Rival Nasty Name

Hot Mic

Politics

The West may be tempted to think the recent angry and seemingly fearless protests across dozens of China’s major cities over the prolonged, brutal lockdowns might pose a real threat to dictator Xi Jinping’s tyrannical rule.
Chinese political commentators living overseas who harbor a deep hatred of the murderous party and its dictatorship share the same, irresistible temptation. For the Chinese who desire freedom, how could they not hate the evil CCP and hope for its demise?
But I do not share the temptation.
One must understand the nature of the protests, unclouded by wishful thinking, to make a reasonable judgment of what has happened in China and what will happen in the future.
For the first time, slogans like “Down with the CCP!” and “Down with Xi Jinping!” were chanted. The protests, however, were not political movements but venting anger. They lacked specific political objectives and demands that can only be answered by changes of a political nature.
Perhaps the biggest deficiency was and is the lack of support from ‘the masses.’ Historically, the masses have been the only force that stood a chance of making a political impact. Sadly, the Chinese masses of today are no longer up to the job, having been tamed for decades by the CCP.
The Chinese masses refer to themselves as: 老百姓 (lao bai xing). The concept of lao bai xing denotes a unique political being. They are a ruled class in a caste society who voluntarily submit to the ruling class, i.e., the CCP. 
Who are those people?
They are the 950 million Chinese who live on a monthly income of 2,000 yuan ($300), according to the National Statistical Bureau’s 2020 yearbook. They are also the 200 million migrant workers, largely a rural populace, whose life goal is to return to the countryside to build a nice house after they have earned enough money from working in cities.
They are poorly educated and financially limited. They are not technically savvy and therefore bereft of the capability of climbing over the Great Firewall, accessing information that will help them resist state propaganda. They certainly have no knowledge of Twitter and the other apps used outside of China.
These people, whom I know very well because I lived among them, know very little about the real world. Nor do they care to know. People from my hometown cooperatively locked themselves at home simply because the government asked them to do so.
Do not assume that middle-class Chinese desire freedom or democracy.
Freedom is too costly — it requires tremendous sacrifice to pursue, as evidenced in Hong Kongers’ defiance against the CCP tyranny and brutality in 2019.
Democracy is also costly — it demands no small amount of time and effort to participate in common affairs or deliberation in the public sphere. On most occasions, the middle class is unconcerned with political deprivation so long as their purchasing power is guaranteed and increased.
What they have grown accustomed to is despotism — or as Tocqueville writes, a “soft despotism” that provides them with stability and security.
Modern American liberals are no different.
True, it seems that some college students are awakening from their apathy toward politics. They do cry out for “freedom” and “democracy” this time, but those slogans carry very little substance, if any. The freedom they seek is essentially a license to do what they want, similar to how American millennials and Gen Zs understand the word.
The freedom the American founding fathers fought so hard for, on the other hand, is a completely different species: it is self-rule and self-reliance.
Freedom of that nature has never been in the Chinese nation’s DNA.
<h2>White Paper ‘Revolution’? </h2>
At the peak of the protests, a resident living in Chengdu, China, asked me if China should anticipate an upheaval in the near future. “No,” I said.
The white paper protests were by nature different from the Tiananmen Square protests. 
Students of the 1980s had been very political proceeding the protests. The 1980s were the only period of time through the CCP’s reign when China was relatively free. Professors — mostly American educated — were allowed to teach separation of power, rule of law, and freedom of speech. Students enthusiastically read Western political philosophies and debated with each other on campus. They were idealists who wanted to bring liberty to China. 
Today’s Chinese college students, born at the dawn of the 21st century and growing up in a world of comfort, entertainment and various consumptions, are materialistic and would love to migrate to Western countries if they can. They are not rebels, let alone revolutionaries. 
Since the Tiananmen massacre, there have been dispersed protests throughout the past three decades. Chinese individuals or certain groups such as Falun Gong practitioners took their oppositions to the streets. 
Their actions were received with imprisonment and torture. Their voices echoed into a void — the other Chinese, whose self-interests were not affected, stood aloof.
This time is different, though. All Chinese were in grave peril of their lives and livelihoods. It&#8217;s predictable some urban residents were emboldened to challenge state power at a magnitude not seen since 1989. But one must ask if the repression is imposed only upon certain groups, would there still be nationwide protests?
That question was in fact answered a long time ago.
When millions of Uyghurs were corralled within labor camps for years, the Han Chinese were either apathetic toward the suffering of a people whom many of them regarded as inferior or they supported the government for taking necessary action on the alleged Uyghur ‘separatists’ and ‘terrorists.’
In 2019, when the police brutally attacked Hong Kong protestors, the mainland Chinese — including many of the white paper protestors — believed the subjugation was justified. Hong Kongers’ alleged secessionist attempt must be stamped down. 
When circumstances change, the mainland Chinese can swiftly switch into jingoistic nationalists. 
I wonder how many Chinese Gen Zs or millennials have knowledge of the dark history of CCP’s heinous crimes committed against its people?
Here is one example, perhaps lesser known to the West than the Culture Revolution and the Tiananmen Massacre. 
During the period of the first Land Reform (1947-1953), i.e., the nationalization of the land, an estimated eight million ‘landlords’ and their families were killed. Those so-called ‘landlords,’ in fact, were free peasants who owned small pieces of land.
There never was a peasant-landlord class system in China similar to the one that existed in feudal Europe. Rural China consisted of a vast number of farming villages where free peasants farmed their own land, occasionally with the help of hired laborers.
Taking away the land was not enough. The “oppressed” class must be taught to hate the “oppressing” class. The communists turned the masses into an enraged mob who shot, strangled, dismembered, and buried alive the other Chinese.
Each killing was designed to be a spectacle: A rally was gathered, adults and children were asked to witness the condemnation, torture, and final execution.
The sheer savagery and wickedness exhibited in those rallies are what make it difficult for me to finish researching the subject.
Within three years of the founding of the PRC, a cohesive social class, viewed as the gentry of villages, which united and regulated rural society since the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), had simply ceased to exist.
Gone with the demise of the gentry class, were morals developed through thousands of years.
I do not think Gen Zs and millennials have adequate knowledge of the long list of CCP’s crimes. If they had, we wouldn’t see the last line printed on some white papers that reads, “we love freedom, and we also love the Party and the country.”
It seems they want to appeal to the party’s tender feelings that, unfortunately, only exist in their imaginations.
A party that was able to kill the youth with tanks and machine guns is a butcher who has no feelings.
<h2>The Myth of Freedom</h2>
White paper protestors invoked free speech as a “human right” in support of their cause. I do not think free speech is a human right. Human rights are what we are entitled to merely by virtue of being human. All liberties are political rights.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution takes roots in a charter named Magna Carta that was signed in 1215 by England’s King John and rebellious land barons. Future legislation would extend those rights, the Petition of Right (1628) and Habeas Corpus Act (1679).
In 1776, American colonists invoked the Magna Carta to justify their rebellion against the English crown who usurped the (political) rights they inherited as Englishmen.
I do not regard the American founding fathers as revolutionaries in the sense of the French Revolution overthrowing the ancien régime. They were conservatives who valued their distinctive English way of living so much that they were willing to sacrifice their lives to preserve it.
Due to this strong commitment to freedom (not license), America was founded on one principle: to protect individuals from the tyranny of government.
Today’s America, however, is coming very close to the end of self-rule and self-reliance.
Freedom has never existed in China throughout its four-millenia history. There were rebellions, but no rebels signed a covenant with the ruler in exchange for rights. They simply became the successors. The cycle goes on.
Will there be rebels in the future fighting the CCP tyrant at all costs, in spite of all terror, in exchange for political rights? My answer is no.
The generation of idealists will never return in an age of consumerism. Humans have become soft, wanting to be taken care of and provided for, regardless what type of regimes in which they live.
American liberals are no different.
Tocqueville’s foresight has now become reality. How can one deny the fact that Americans are living in what Tocqueville calls “tutelary despotism?”
<blockquote>“&#8230;I see an innumerable crowd of similar and equal men who spin around restlessly, in order to gain small and vulgar pleasures with which they fill their souls … Above those men arises an immense and tutelary power that alone takes charge of assuring their enjoyment and of looking after their fate … After having thus taken each individual one by one into its powerful hands, and having molded him as it pleases, the sovereign power extends its arms over the entire society … and finally it reduces each nation to being nothing more than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.”</blockquote>
Freedom is precarious. I hope Americans bear in mind the words of President Reagan:
<blockquote>“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”</blockquote>
If there is one thing American college students can learn from what is happening to their Chinese counterparts, it is this: Do not take America for granted.
Habi Zhang is a doctoral student in political science. Her work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Law &amp; Liberty, The American Mind, The Imaginative Conservative, and more.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Protest in Beijing Against China Covid Measures

China’s White Paper Protests Are A Preview Of The ‘Soft Despotism’ Coming For America

Chinese Communist Party

Protests

Readers Pass

Social Issues

One of the most noteworthy geopolitical and <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economic</a> developments in modern history has been the emergence of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a> as a superpower. The miraculous rise of the once-ascendent communist nation, however, could lose tremendous momentum as the strength of its manufacturing sector rapidly dissipates.
China’s gross domestic product has expanded at an average of 9% since the country opened and reformed its economy more than four decades ago, according to <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the World Bank, enabling more than 800 million residents to escape poverty. Over the past two years, however, the Chinese government has been among the most zealous enforcers of COVID lockdown policies on the planet.
Quarantines mandated under the nation’s zero-COVID policy have fostered unpredictable <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/supply-chain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supply chain</a> shocks for foreign companies in recent months, causing a push to build manufacturing and logistics capabilities elsewhere. American manufacturing orders from China have plummeted as much as 40%, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/04/manufacturing-orders-from-china-down-40percent-in-demand-collapse.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map.
“The fall in demand is a combination of persistent COVID-19 related shutdowns in China leading to bottlenecks in the export of products out of China, lower American consumer spending on merchandise goods, and supply chains gradually moving out of or diversifying away from China,” Hudson Institute senior fellow John Lee told The Daily Wire. “The latter reason will be a major cause of lower American demand for Chinese goods in structural terms as more goods into America will come from other markets.”
<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://get.dailywire.com/readers-pass/read-only-v2?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/readers-pass/read-only-v2?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-35350">TIRED OF THE LEGACY MEDIA’S BIAS CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE AND OBSCURING THE TRUTH? JOIN US.</a>
In one high-profile example, an iPhone manufacturing facility in Zhengzhou was rocked by protests over zero-COVID restrictions, severely disrupting operations and leading Apple to accelerate production shifts to economies such as India and Vietnam, according to a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-china-factory-protests-foxconn-manufacturing-production-supply-chain-11670023099" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The Wall Street Journal. The world’s most valuable technology company had already <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/apple-shifts-ipad-manufacturing-away-from-china-due-to-harsh-covid-lockdowns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moved</a> some iPad production earlier this year to Vietnam, where the AirPod earbud series is manufactured, in reaction to lockdowns in Shanghai.
Lee, who formerly worked as senior national security adviser to Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, remarked that “permanent geopolitical tensions” are another factor behind the “deliberate decoupling” of manufacturing deals between the United States and China. The trend is especially apparent in the technology sector, which has been the subject of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-makes-historic-move-to-block-certain-chinese-tech-after-national-security-concerns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased scrutiny</a> over American regulators’ unease regarding Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft.
“In most merchandise goods which are not high-tech products, the supply chains moving out of China due to firms hedging against geopolitical tensions will continue to be a cause for lower American demand of Chinese goods into the future,” Lee commented. “Hence, it is geopolitical tensions leading to lower American demand for Chinese goods rather than lower American demand being the cause of geopolitical tensions.”
Staunch geopolitical aggression will likely be a central tenet of the nation’s foreign policy in the foreseeable future. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who recently began an unprecedented third term, lauded the defeat of democratic aspirations in Hong Kong and forecasted the imminent conquest of Taiwan in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chinas-xi-issues-dark-warning-on-taiwan-as-he-consolidates-power-over-ccp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speech</a> at the Chinese Communist Party’s twice-per-decade meeting of senior legislators. The executive has largely staked his reputation as a leader on the zero-COVID policy over the past two years.

Made in China. Cardboard boxes with text made in China and chinese flag on the roller conveyor.

Chinese Manufacturing Is Quickly Collapsing

Chinese Manufacturing Is Collapsing As Other Nations Rise In Prominence

China

Supply Chain

Xi Jinping

Teenagers’ brains were physically altered and aged at an accelerated rate during the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lockdowns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID lockdowns</a>, according to a Stanford University <a href="https://www.bpsgos.org/article/S2667-1743(22)00142-2/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> published Thursday.
Researchers used MRI scans to study the brains of 163 adolescents in the San Francisco Bay Area who were already a part of a more intensive study “assessing the effects of early life stress on psychobiology across puberty.” The study found that 16-year-olds had more severe mental health problems, and their brains appeared “several years” older than 16-year-olds who were assessed before pandemic restrictions began.
“We already know from global research that the pandemic has adversely affected mental health in youth, but we didn’t know what, if anything, it was doing physically to their brains,” <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2022/12/01/pandemic-stress-physically-aged-teens-brains-new-study-finds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Ian Gotlib, the first author of the paper and professor of Psychology in the School of Humanities and Sciences.
Children were especially affected by government-ordered lockdowns across the U.S. following the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. In the Bay Area, schools <a href="https://www.sfusd.edu/covid-19-response-updates-and-resources/preparing-fall-2021/notice-covid-19-school-closure-dates-sy-2020-2021#:~:text=Due%20to%20the%20COVID%2D19,was%20provided%20through%20remote%20learning." target="_blank" rel="noopener">remained closed</a> for over a year as students were forced to learn virtually from their homes. Finally, in the spring of 2021, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) offered parents the option of sending their children back to school in person.
Months of forced seclusion from normal face-to-face interactions with friends, teachers, and classmates, along with stress from the pandemic itself negatively affected teenagers’ mental health, according to the study.
“Given the shelter-in-place orders in the Spring of 2020 that led to school closures, academic disruptions, social restrictions, and reduced access to school-based mental health services, the pandemic appears to have been particularly difficult for children and adolescents,” the study’s authors wrote. “In fact, a recent meta-analysis found that the prevalence of internalizing symptoms in youth has doubled since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The Stanford researchers’ findings correlate with data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/playground-closed-how-lockdowns-have-impacted-children" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> last year that over the course of 2020, “the proportion of mental health-related emergency department (ED) visits among adolescents aged 12–17 years increased 31% compared with that during 2019.”
Gotlib noted that it remains unclear if the accelerated changes to teenagers’ brains are permanent, adding that scientists continue to speculate what it might mean for a teenager whose brain is aging “prematurely.” The psychology professor plans to follow the same adolescents from the study as they age, monitoring whether the COVID pandemic and government lockdowns will affect brain development over the long term.

Woman Looking out Window

Teens’ Brains Were Physically ‘Altered,’ Aged By ‘Several Years’ During COVID Lockdowns: Stanford Study

Teens’ Brains Physically Aged By ‘Several Years’ During COVID Lockdowns: Stanford Study

Stanford University

Teenagers

Two cities in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/china?_gl=1*tmvfx5*_ga*MTkxMzA0ODkzMS4xNjQ0MDIxMjI4*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTY2OTg0MzI4NC45MjYuMS4xNjY5ODQ2OTI5LjQwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a> have loosened some COVID restrictions after massive protests rocked the country in recent days. 
The cities of Guangzhou and Chongqing <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/covid-protests-escalate-guangzhou-china-lockdown-anger-boils-2022-11-30/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> they will cut back on COVID restrictions following the outcry of citizens across the country. Chongqing will now permit close contacts of those who are infected with COVID to stay at home while they quarantine if they meet certain requirements, according to a city official. Guangzhou also said it will let up on the restrictions, but officials did not discuss the demonstrations. The area where violence broke out on Tuesday was still under strict rule. On Monday, protesters <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/video-chinese-protesters-destroy-covid-testing-site-as-police-in-hazmat-suits-deploy-to-city-streets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demolished</a> a COVID testing site in Guangzhou, leading police to take action to scatter the groups of people.
China’s “zero-COVID” policy has been a key strategy in President Xi Jinping’s attempt to control the virus, but the intense restrictions and crackdowns on citizens appeared to be reaching a breaking point in recent days.
Health authorities in China also <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-officials-soften-tone-on-covid-curbs-amid-protests-11669759134" target="_blank" rel="noopener">toned</a> down their discussions of COVID, reportedly telling local governments not to take part in lockdowns that are long and unnecessary.
“International and domestic monitoring data confirmed that the pathogenicity and virulence of the Omicron mutant strains … are significantly weaker than the original strain and variant strains such as Delta,” Chang Zhaorui, a researcher at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told the press.
On Wednesday, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan also said that with a declining variant and increasing vaccination numbers, the government’s COVID maintenance “is facing new situations.”
Last week, however, health authorities were pushing the messaging that Omicron was highly infectious.
The country’s citizens have been protesting in cities around China, beginning on Friday in Urumqi, where a fire killed 10 people.
On Wednesday, former President Jiang Zemin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-chinese-president-dead-at-96-amid-nationwide-protests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">died</a>, and some experts and protesters reportedly believe his death might lead to a newfound commitment by the protesters to continue speaking out against the government’s strict lockdown measures. Jiang was a leader who propelled economic growth for decades in the country and rose to power after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 when military members killed students as they protested.
“So as for Jiang Zemin&#8217;s death, we feel a sense of tragedy towards the future of China&#8217;s leadership,&#8221; protester Ray Lei said.
The death of the former leader could also give some residents a rightful reason to come together in groups, as some noted on Telegram, which protesters have <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/dating-apps-telegram-how-china-protesters-are-defying-authorities-2022-11-29/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">used</a> to organize demonstrations.
&#8220;We can all go onto the streets today and lay chrysanthemums,&#8221; one user said.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/author/zach-jewell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zach Jewell</a> contributed to this report.

DFB614F9-0334-449E-8D74-5C8B81A5F53F_1_201_a

Chinese Cities Cut Back COVID Restrictions After Protests

Chinese Cities Guangzhou And Chongqing Cut Back COVID Restrictions After Protests

Communist China

Chinese police arrested a journalist for the BBC who was covering the massive protests that were breaking out across the country in responses to the communist nation&#8217;s draconian coronavirus lockdown measures.
The protests <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/protests-against-covid-lockdowns-erupt-across-china-some-turn-violent">reportedly</a> began on Thursday after ten people were killed in a fire at a residential high-rise building in Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang autonomous region. Videos of the incident posted on social media spawned accusations that lockdowns contributed to the deaths, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/26/world/asia/china-protests-covid.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Times</a> and Reuters reported. Residents of the city have been locked down and prevented from leaving their homes for as long as 100 days at a time, Reuters added.
Outside Shanghai, major cities and college campuses were also the scenes of major protests. Reuters reported that demonstrations broke out in the cities of Wuhan, Chengdu, Lanzhou, and Beijing on Sunday. Protests in Wuhan reportedly turned violent, with demonstrators smashing through metal barricades, overturning testing tents, and demanding an end to lockdowns. The New York Times reported another protest in the city of Korla in northern Xinjiang.
Journalist Edward Lawrence, who has since been released, was seen being roughed up by the Chinese police in videos that went viral on social media.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Shanghai, BBC reporter Edward Lawrence was randomly arrested by Chinese police.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheGreatTranslationMovement?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheGreatTranslationMovement</a> <a href="https://t.co/PMq8rHszlm">pic.twitter.com/PMq8rHszlm</a>
&mdash; The Great Translation Movement 大翻译运动官方推号 (@TGTM_Official) <a href="https://twitter.com/TGTM_Official/status/1596987324822622208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The BBC released a statement saying that it was &#8220;extremely concerned&#8221; about the deteriorating situation in China and how the nation&#8217;s authorities were treating reporters.
&#8220;The BBC is extremely concerned about the treatment of our journalist Ed Lawrence, who was arrested and handcuffed while covering the protests in Shanghai,&#8221; the publication said. &#8220;He was held for several hours before being released. During his arrest, he was beaten and kicked by the police. This happened while he was working as an accredited journalist.&#8221;
&#8220;It is very worrying that one of our journalists was attacked in this way whilst carrying out his duties,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;We have had no official explanation or apology from the Chinese authorities, beyond a claim by the officials who later released him that they had arrested him for his own good in case he caught Covid from the crowd. We do not consider this a credible explanation.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A statement from the BBC on what happened to me in Shanghai last night while doing my job. 
I understand at least one local national was arrested after trying to stop the police from beating me. 
Thanks very much for the kind words and messages of concern. <a href="https://t.co/weoDAMakvO">https://t.co/weoDAMakvO</a>
&mdash; Edward Lawrence (@EP_Lawrence) <a href="https://twitter.com/EP_Lawrence/status/1597072695337766912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Lawrence posted another video since the incident where he showed police were forcing people to show authorities their phones and then were forcing those people to delete photos and videos from the protests.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
People being forced to delete photos by the police today at the of the last two days of protests <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/shanghai?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#shanghai</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/china?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#china</a> <a href="https://t.co/VS1kFSoh3x">pic.twitter.com/VS1kFSoh3x</a>
&mdash; Edward Lawrence (@EP_Lawrence) <a href="https://twitter.com/EP_Lawrence/status/1597160110518067201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
John Rigolizzo contributed to this report.

China Covid Unrest Boils Over as Citizens Defy Lockdown Efforts

BBC Journalist ‘Beaten And Kicked’ By Communist China’s Police

Media

The White House released a statement on Monday regarding China&#8217;s strict COVID lockdown policies, offering a tepid response following several days of protests across the communist nation.
Instead of offering support to back the freedoms of the Chinese people, the Biden administration focused on the difficulty of a &#8220;zero COVID&#8221; approach.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve said that zero COVID is not a policy we are pursuing here in the United States. And as we&#8217;ve said, we think it&#8217;s going to be very difficult for the People&#8217;s Republic of China to be able to contain this virus through their zero-COVID strategy,&#8221; a National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
New White House statement on the protests in China: “We’ve long said everyone has the right to peacefully protest, here in the United States and around the world. This includes in the PRC,” a National Security Council spokesperson says. 
Full statement: <a href="https://t.co/4yOBcb8PKL">pic.twitter.com/4yOBcb8PKL</a>
&mdash; Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) <a href="https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1597213792487997441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The statement also focused on what the U.S. is doing rather than criticizing China&#8217;s government.
&#8220;For us, we are focused on what works and that means using public health tools like: continuing to enhance vaccination rates, including boosters and making testing and treatment easily accessible,&#8221; the statement added. &#8220;We’ve long said everyone has the right to peacefully protest, here in the United States and around the world. This includes in the PRC.&#8221;
Protests emerged across China on Thursday after 10 people died in a fire at a residential building in Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang autonomous region, that was under lockdown. The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/protests-against-covid-lockdowns-erupt-across-china-some-turn-violent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that videos of the incident posted on social media spawned accusations that lockdowns contributed to the deaths.
Residents of the city have been locked down and prevented from leaving their homes for as long as 100 days at a time, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/shanghai-hit-by-covid-protests-anger-spreads-across-china-2022-11-27/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
The peaceful protests have led to increased security in Shanghai and Beijing, the outlet reported on Monday. Chinese President Xi Jinping has continued to push for strong lockdown efforts to eradicate the virus despite the calls for freedom.
The pushback by China&#8217;s citizens against lockdowns reaches back far earlier than last week&#8217;s deadly fire.
&#8220;Over the last two years, Mr. Xi backed himself into a corner by owning the zero-COVID policy. The most rational way for him to handle the situation if protests continue to grow is to pressure local authorities to crack down hard while distancing himself,&#8221; Ho-fung Hung, a sociologist at Johns Hopkins University, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/xi-jinping-step-down-china-deadly-fire-protests-zero-covid-policy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;But then there is a risk that local authorities might refuse to follow the directive closely as they are worn down by the zero-Covid rigidities.&#8221;
Despite the Biden administration&#8217;s response, a growing number of conservative voices are speaking out over China&#8217;s severe limitations against freedom.
&#8220;China has had enough of the COVID tyranny,&#8221; Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs tweeted on Monday. &#8220;These types of draconian lockdowns are ineffective and crumble societies.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
China has had enough of the COVID tyranny. 
These types of draconian lockdowns are ineffective and crumble societies.
&mdash; Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepAndyBiggsAZ/status/1597247548607324160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn also blasted the ruling Chinese Communist Party over its harsh treatment of both citizens and media.
&#8220;Authoritarian regimes like the CCP arrest and harass journalists in an attempt to rewrite the truth,&#8221; she <a href="https://twitter.com/MarshaBlackburn/status/1597081826572791808" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> on Sunday.

China COVID protests

White House Releases Tepid Statement On Protests In China

White House Releases Guarded Statement On Protests In China

Biden Administration

Executive

China&#8217;s oppressive COVID lockdown measures continue to fuel protests as news of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-world-reacts-to-chinese-dictator-xi-jinping-purging-former-leader-on-camera-chilling-and-orwellian/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Xi Jinping</a>&#8216;s extreme approach shocks the world.
The growing conflict between the government and the Chinese people has accelerated in recent weeks. Some cities have endured more than 100 days of entire cities under severe lockdowns, despite just <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=china+covid+numbers&amp;oq=china+covid+numbers&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512j0i22i30.6017j0j7&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">38,000 people</a> testing positive for the coronavirus among a population of over 1.4 billion.
Residents of major cities across China have been fenced in with limited opportunities to travel. Some provinces have implemented such lockdowns for more than three straight months as the pandemic extends into its third year in the Chinese Communist Party-controlled country.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
In Guangzhou, the current epicentre of China’s Covid surge, large parts of Haizhu district are still locked down.
In one area we were able to walk right up to the barrier. 
This is not like the Shanghai lockdown, people are allowed out to buy food, but many are weary <a href="https://t.co/Leo1l3EhdP">pic.twitter.com/Leo1l3EhdP</a>
&mdash; Helen-Ann Smith (@HelenAnnSmith0) <a href="https://twitter.com/HelenAnnSmith0/status/1594706336532643844?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Recent measures include roadblocks, mall closures, schools returning to online learning, and park shutdowns.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This Is What China’s Renewed War on Covid Looks Like<a href="https://t.co/KqONnb0JQu">https://t.co/KqONnb0JQu</a>
現在、中国でのCOVID-19感染者拡大に伴い実施されている対策は、パンデミック初年に各国で見られた風景に似ている <a href="https://t.co/znWngmlPeM">pic.twitter.com/znWngmlPeM</a>
&mdash; Mugen UJIIE (氏家 無限) (@carpe_diem0820) <a href="https://twitter.com/carpe_diem0820/status/1595553846046388224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The lockdown policies have included forced vaccinations, masking, and mandatory COVID testing to travel outside restricted areas. Bars and many restaurants have also been closed or prohibited indoor dining, with claims of patients in need of medical treatment being denied.
Lockdown-breakers have been arrested, while government censorship blocks those speaking out against the government&#8217;s oppressive rules.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/16/world/asia/china-zero-covid-policy-videos.html?action=click&amp;pgtype=Article&amp;state=default&amp;module=styln-china-zero-covid&amp;variant=show&amp;region=BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT&amp;block=storyline_flex_guide_recirc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> last week that family members had been separated over COVID, including children removed from their parents. One boarding school would not allow students to leave campus due to a reported COVID outbreak.
The nation is also reportedly building &#8220;quarantine centers,&#8221; including one currently under construction that will reportedly house up to 80,000 people.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
For the second day in a row, China has recorded an explosive increase in coronavirus infections.
In the city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, which has the largest number of cases, the construction of a quarantine center for 80,000 people has begun. <a href="https://t.co/LnOZdVdVjO">pic.twitter.com/LnOZdVdVjO</a>
&mdash; NEXTA (@nexta_tv) <a href="https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1596060739282010113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Earlier this month, The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-china-social-media-beijing-94dee24454984179f79b493cf0589d62" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the city of Guangzhou announced plans to build quarantine facilities for nearly 250,000 people.
The restrictions are also widespread, impacting around 340 million people across 37 cities in China, approximately a quarter of the population, according to the Times. Strict mitigation policies sparked protests after a fire in a Urumqi high-rise building killed ten people last week, with residents blaming the lockdown for the deaths.
A Saturday <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/protests-against-covid-lockdowns-erupt-across-china-some-turn-violent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demonstration</a> in Shanghai over the deaths led to police deploying pepper spray into a crowd of about 300 protesters. A witness <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-health-china-fires-covid-4ffc00e5f6761be48f5887d57d66c708" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Associated Press that one of his friends was beaten, and two others were pepper sprayed. He added that police stepped on his feet while he tried to prevent them from taking his friend away; he also lost his shoes in the chaos and was left barefoot.
China&#8217;s tyranny against its people also holds significant consequences for the U.S. and other nations. The supply chain shortage that arose in early 2021 could soon return as factories and other export businesses shutter across the country.
Despite President Xi Jinping winning a third term in October, a significant number of Chinese citizens are calling for the leader to step down, demanding his resignation over his restrictions on freedom during the pandemic.

China protest

Protesters Call For Xi Jinping To Step Down Over China’s Extreme COVID Lockdowns

Protesters Call For Xi Jinping To Step Down Over China's Extreme COVID Lockdowns 

Chinese citizens are protesting the communist nation&#8217;s strict COVID policies, with at least one demonstration turning violent.
Protests intensified over the weekend in major cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan. According to media reports, a demonstration in Shanghai eventually devolved into chaos, with police clashing with protesters and deploying pepper spray. The protests emerged as a response to the &#8220;zero COVID&#8221; policies imposed by the Chinese Communist Party government since the beginning of the pandemic.
&#8220;I’m here because I love my country, but I don’t love my government &#8230; I want to be able to go out freely, but I can’t. Our COVID-19 policy is a game and is not based on science or reality,&#8221; one protester in Shanghai told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/shanghai-hit-by-covid-protests-anger-spreads-across-china-2022-11-27/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters</a>.
The protests reportedly began on Thursday after ten people were killed in a fire at a residential high-rise building in Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang autonomous region. Videos of the incident posted on social media spawned accusations that lockdowns contributed to the deaths, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/26/world/asia/china-protests-covid.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Times</a> and Reuters reported. Residents of the city have been locked down and prevented from leaving their homes for as long as 100 days at a time, Reuters added.
&#8220;We just want our basic human rights. We can’t leave our homes without getting a test. It was the accident in Xinjiang that pushed people too far,&#8221; another protester told Reuters.
According to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-health-china-fires-covid-4ffc00e5f6761be48f5887d57d66c708" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a> and Reuters, protesters gathered at Wulumuqi Road in Shanghai on Saturday, which is named after Urumqi, to hold a candlelight vigil in memory of the victims of the fire. Around 100 police officers stood by to reportedly keep demonstrators from gathering.
At some point during the night, police deployed pepper spray into a crowd of about 300 protesters. The witness told the AP that one of his friends was beaten, and two others were pepper sprayed. He added that police stepped on his feet while he tried to prevent them from taking his friend away; he also lost his shoes in the chaos and was left barefoot.
Outside Shanghai, major cities and college campuses were also the scenes of major protests. Reuters reported that demonstrations broke out in the cities of Wuhan, Chengdu, Lanzhou, and Beijing on Sunday. Protests in Wuhan reportedly turned violent, with demonstrators smashing through metal barricades, overturning testing tents, and demanding an end to lockdowns. The New York Times reported another protest in the city of Korla in northern Xinjiang.
Meanwhile, a peaceful protest reportedly took place in memory of the Urumqi victims on the campus of Tsinghua University in Beijing, the alma mater of Communist Party leader Xi Jinping. Protests were also reported at the Communication University of China in Nanjing, Peking University in Beijing, and the Wuhan University of Technology.
In several cases, protesters reportedly took aim directly at Xi. &#8220;Down with the Chinese Communist Party, down with Xi Jinping,&#8221; protesters reportedly shouted at the Saturday demonstration in Shanghai, per Reuters.
“We want freedom,” others chanted, according to the New York Times.
“Xi Jinping!” “Step down!” another group chanted back and forth, NYT reported.
China and the Communist Party are under international pressure to ease the &#8220;zero COVID&#8221; restrictions that have kept infections to a minimum but severely damaged China&#8217;s economy.
“Under the zero-COVID strategy, China weathered the initial impact of the pandemic well, allowing the economy to recover swiftly from the early-2020 lockdowns and to expand the global supply of medical goods and durable goods significantly at a critical time for the global economy,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/imf-to-china-drop-outdated-zero-covid-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Monetary Fund</a> First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said in a statement. “However, China’s growth has since slowed and remains under pressure amid recurring COVID outbreaks, deep challenges in the property sector, and slowing global demand.”

China COVID protest

Protests Against COVID Lockdowns Erupt Across China, Some Turn Violent

Protests have broken out throughout communist China in response to revamped coronavirus lockdown measures that have gone back into effect amid a skyrocketing number of coronavirus infections.
Dozens of cities across the country have gone back into <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-daily-covid-cases-hit-record-high-2022-11-24/">lockdown</a> with millions of people impacted, a situation that has negatively impacted economic forecasts.
Notable demonstrations have included thousands of workers at an iPhone factory clashing with authorities, protesters breaking out of locked down buildings, and online outrage over an infant who died because her father could not get her medical services due to the country&#8217;s lockdowns, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/24/world/asia/china-unrest-covid-lockdowns.html">reported</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
CHINA: Protests getting out of hand at Foxconn iPhone plant in Zhengzhou tonight where workers are rebelling against Covid harsh restrictions and work environment <a href="https://t.co/xwe2oAHYge">pic.twitter.com/xwe2oAHYge</a>
&mdash; Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) <a href="https://twitter.com/Joyce_Karam/status/1595491412610584584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: New Footage of Chinese police fleeing from workers at Zhengzhou iPhone factory 🚨 🚨 🚨
🔊sound &#8230;🔥🔥🔥<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Apple?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Apple</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Foxconn?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Foxconn</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Foxconnriot?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Foxconnriot</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/chinalockdown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#chinalockdown</a> <a href="https://t.co/57OFTE0IFc">pic.twitter.com/57OFTE0IFc</a>
&mdash; Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) <a href="https://twitter.com/WallStreetSilv/status/1595586273976139777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The report noted that the unrest is unprecedented for the communist nation, which has a history of using force to stamp out dissent.
China, which is where the coronavirus pandemic originated, reported a new high in coronavirus infections Friday, with more than 32,000 new cases.
The numbers have started spreading so quickly that experts have warned that China has potentially &#8220;passed the point of no return&#8221; in reference to the country&#8217;s goals of having no coronavirus cases.
“China might have already passed the point of no return, as it’s unlikely to achieve zero Covid again without another Shanghai-style hard lockdown,” Macquarie’s Chief China Economist Larry Hu <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/23/china-may-have-passed-the-point-of-no-return-as-covid-infections-soar.html">said</a>. “What policymakers could do now is to slow the spread of virus, i.e. flatten the curve, by tightening the Covid controls for the time being.”
While the numbers were deemed to be a new record for China, there is no way to know that because China was widely accused of lying throughout the pandemic over how many cases and deaths the country was experiencing, not to mention the accusations that the country covered up the origin of where the outbreak originated.
“What we’re witnessing at Foxconn is the bankruptcy of ‘the China model,’” said Wu Qiang, a political analyst in Beijing, in reference to the manufacturing plant that produces Apple&#8217;s iPhones. “It’s the collapse of China’s image as a production powerhouse, as well as China’s relationship to globalization.”
Li Qiang, founder and executive director of China Labor Watch, added, “If the government continues with its zero-Covid policy, Foxconn would only be the beginning. There is Foxconn today, but other factories will face similar situations.”
The protests at Foxconn, which turned violent, came in response to bonuses not being paid to workers on time because the company did not follow the country&#8217;s strict coronavirus restrictions by isolating new workers from those who had tested positive, the report said.
The company claimed that the delays were due to a “technical error” and offered to pay employees who wanted to resign $1,400 and give them free rides home.

Opening Ceremony Of The 20th National Congress Of The Communist Party Of China

Protests Are Spreading In China As Backlash Grows To The Communist Nation’s Lockdowns: Report

Protests Are Spreading In China As Backlash Grows To The Communist Nation's Lockdowns: Report

Menu