US Embassy Warns About China’s Expanded Pandemic Measures

Former ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns gives his opening statement during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on his nomination to be the U.S. Ambassador to China, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 20, 2021. Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

The U.S. Embassy in China recommended that compatriots keep a 14-day supply of medications, bottled water, and food on hand, said a release on Nov. 28.

Ambassador Nicholas Burns also tweeted that the embassy is “monitoring the COVID situation and assisting U.S. citizens with challenges due to lockdowns and restrictions.”

An emergency number, “[phone]” for 24/7 is available according to the embassy’s official Twitter account.

The embassy also encouraged people to register in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at https://step.state.gov/ for important messages.

Everyone Is at Risk

In response to the recent rise of COVID-19 infections in China, the embassy warned that the Chinese authorities have expanded COVID-19 prevention restrictions and control measures such as residential quarantines, mass testing, closures, transportation disruptions, lockdowns, and possible family separation.

Many Chinese sought help by responding to the post.

One netizen said, “Help us.”

Another said, “Please help our Chinese university students.”

Beijing’s extreme zero-COVID policy has left massive numbers of Chinese residents restricted by lockdown and quarantine measures, and struggling with food shortages and lack of medical care.

Consequently, various tragedies have occurred throughout China, such as a quarantine bus overturned in Guizhou, a southwest province of China, that caused 27 deaths and 20 injured in September; a deadly fire in an Urumqi apartment on Nov. 24, in China’s northwest Xinjiang region, killed at least 10 residents who were trapped inside due to the extreme lockdown measures and fire trucks could not access the compound.

The deadly fire is one occurrence that stirred public anger.

Protesters hold up blamk pieces of paper against censorship and China's strict zero COVID measures in Beijing on Nov. 27, 2022. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Protests erupted throughout the nation. The protestors shouted, “Communist Party, Step down; Xi Jinping, Step down.”

As it evolved, the protests became what’s known as the White Paper Revolution, or “A4 Revolution,” with protestors holding a piece of blank paper demonstrating their discontent with the strict governmental policies and censorship.

At least 79 Chinese university students in 15 provinces have participated in the defiance.

The regime’s draconic measures have affected Westerners too.

Ed Lawrence, a BBC journalist in China was covering a protest in Shanghai over the Urumqi blaze on Nov. 27. Chinese police beat him and arrested him while he was on site.

The authorities released him hours later, and claimed they were protecting him from COVID-19.

Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) expressed its concern on the 28th and stated that at least two journalists were detained among many who were “physically harassed by police while covering the unrest.”

Zhang Ting contributed to this report.