How free can these Olympics be?

The China Letter: January 18, 2022

Questions surround whether the Winter Games will proceed as planned in Beijing, but competing countries are also worried about digital surveillance of athletes, while further lockdowns raise the prospect of all the competitors being defeated by COVID-19. Read on for these stories and more dispatches for these strange times.

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Olympic-sized dilemmas

Axios @axios

China's aim in temporarily opening its "great firewall" for athletes in the Olympics Village in Beijing is simply to boost its global reputation ahead of the Games, not to champion an open internet, experts say.

trib.alChina makes a show of opening up the internet for the OlympicsThe “great firewall” will come down — for visitors.

The degree to which access to the entire internet will be open during the 2022 Beijing Olympics is somewhat uncertain, because law forbidding some expressions can be enforced in other ways. Dutch athletes have been cautioned to leave their phones and laptops at home, while British ones will be offered temporary devices for the Games.

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Lockdown life continues

Washington Examiner @dcexaminer

The lockdown of Anyang, located in the northern Henan province of China, brings the total of quarantined residents to 20 million. Residents cannot go outside, and all stores have been shut down except those providing necessities.

washex.amChina locks down third city, quarantined now include 20 millionChinese officials have shut down a third city after a COVID-19 outbreak among its residents.

Anyang has joined Yuzhou and Xi’an as the Chinese cities under lockdown in early 2022 due to outbreaks of COVID-19 with no indication of how long these will last—but it all appears driven by the Olympics happening in February. But these policies are starting to have broader economic effects beyond more reports of starving citizens.

The Associated Press @AP

The Chinese city of Xi’an has gradually begun lifting restrictions after more than three weeks of lockdown as authorities sought to stamp out a local coronavirus outbreak, state media reports. China has adopted a strict “zero-Covid” policy. ​

apne.wsChinese city Xi’an lifts some restrictions after lockdown | AP NewsBEIJING (AP) — The Chinese city of Xi’an has gradually begun lifting restrictions after over three weeks of lockdown as authorities sought to stamp out a local outbreak before the Beijing Winter Olympic Games are due to start.

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The party with a price

Hong Kong Free Press HKFP @hkfp

Covid-19: Quarantine for 100 guests at Chinese official’s b’day party, inc. 13 senior Hong Kong officials & 19 lawmakers hongkongfp.com/2022/01/07/cov…

A birthday party for one Hong Kong delegate to China led to attendees quarantined for 21 days after two of them tested positive for COVID-19, compounded with the backlash to other evidence of gatherings. Junius Ho, a pro-Beijing lawmaker, posted a Facebook video in which he likened these quarantines to “sandcastles on the beach.”

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MI5 deliver a warning

Mail+ @mailplus

Security warning for MPs after Chinese agent infiltrates Parliament

mailplus.co.ukWho is Christine Ching Kui Lee? MI5 security warning over suspected Chinese agent

Christine Ching Kui Lee “established links” with current and aspiring British parliamentarians on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party according to an unusual warning issued by the U.K. security service. The suspected agent was making donations through her law firm which are alleged to be driven by acquiring political influence.

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The costs of child policy

Grid @gridnews

It’s unclear how serious a population problem will prove for China, but experts agree that the situation presents profound challenges for their economy and society. China’s population decline will come with consequences. Grid's @lili_pike reports.

bit.lyWhat happens when the world’s most populous country starts to shrinkChinese officials hoped for a baby boom, but China experienced only a baby blip. That could pose major challenges for the government.

The new American news website Grid debuted with a piece about how the end of the one-child policy in China failed to spur much family expansion, and the challenges of an aging and shrinking population. A memo issued by Ren Zeping, the former chief economist of Evergrande, suggested Beijing start a $300-billion fertility fund.

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Games of perception

Chinese state outlet Global Times is showing off what the Olympics media centre looks like, which is a curious contrast to the emerging images published elsewhere of citizens sent to quarantine camps. The battle for better international press seems to include the advent of food-serving robots who manage to deliver noodles from above:

Reuters @Reuters

While noodles are a fairly conventional dish in China, noodles served from the ceiling aren't, but that's the way lunch is dished up in the canteen in the main press center at the #Beijing2022 Winter Olympics

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