may: COVID continues to test Party governance
Zero COVID cannot be questioned, insists the Politburo—regardless of economic consequences. Facing an ever louder public, the Party threatens repercussions for any voice that ‘distorts, questions, or denies’ the policy. Zero COVID-19 thus remains Beijing’s last word on the subject. On 25 May Li Keqiang addressed some 100,000 state cadres in a teleconference on the economy in a clear effort to take the pressure off them.