Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan Tuesday for the first time since the city emerged as the
China’s progress stands in stark contrast
State media images showed Xi, who arrived by plane in Hubei’s capital, wearing a mask as he spoke via video-link to
He then went to a residential community in Wuhan to speak with people quarantined and
China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong is usually a daily fixture in
Li and a vice premier have already visited the virus-stricken city of Wuhan.
But as the number of new cases has fallen in recent weeks, state media
Hua
“His visit is to signal that the outbreak has been effectively curbed, and is an attempt to quieten external criticism of him not going to the
Authorities have faced rare and fierce criticism online over their handling of the virus, with local officials coming under particular scrutiny for punishing whistleblowers in an apparent attempt to cover up the outbreak in early January.
“During the worst of the outbreak, Xi avoided the
– Global cases soar
The death of doctor Li Wenliang, who died from the COVID-19 illness in February, sparked a wave of grief and anger online. He was among a group of people who had raised the alarm as early as December.
A visit by vice premier Sun Chunlan to a Wuhan residential community last week was met with angry public heckling as people reportedly complained that she was being shown a “fake” delivery of food — showing how easily state propaganda efforts could backfire.
The virus is believed to have emerged in December at a market that sold wild animals in Wuhan before ballooning into a national and then a global epidemic.
More than 4,000 people have died and over 110,000 have been infected worldwide, with the majority in China.
But China reported only 17 new cases in Wuhan on Tuesday, the lowest figure since it started publishing data on January 21, and two elsewhere that were imported from abroad.
“Xi doesn’t want to be associated with the disaster, but with the recovery,” said Adam Ni, a researcher at the China Policy Centre in Canberra.
“China has turned the corner now with COVID-19, and the party now wants to craft the most positive narrative despite early missteps.”
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Hua, the Chinese analyst, said the main reason for
“Xi wants to uplift people, and his visit suggests a gradual return to normal life and work,” Hua said.
With 56 million locked down in Hubei, authorities are now considering the possibility of lifting travel restrictions in low-risk areas to prepare for resuming work and manufacturing, state media reported on Tuesday.
AFP
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