As China is grappling with the large public protests in opposition to Xi Jinping’s lockdown orders, overseas ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian stated China is following a ‘dynamic 0 covid coverage’ and there may be no public anger. He became replying to the query of a journalist from Reuters and now the video goes viral. Not due to the fact the solution he sooner or later gave however the lengthy pause that he took best to invite the journalist to copy his query.
Zhao Lijian’s lengthy pause has been defined as ‘awkward silence’ with the aid of using The Guardian. The query became: “Given the extensive show of anger and frustration on the 0 Covid coverage in current days throughout China, is China considering finishing it and if so, when?”
The spokesperson endured searching down sifting papers in the front of him and after nearly 20 seconds, he requested the query to be repeated.
As the query became repeated, Zhao Lijian took every other quick pause after which appeared as much as say, “What you cited does now no longer mirror what happened”.
China witnessed large protests withinside the previous few days which includes in Shanghai and Beijing in opposition to the stringent lockdown measures imposed with the aid of using Jinping. Police, however, stepped up the crackdown with the aid of using touring the protesters’ homes. Places, wherein anti-authorities protests took place, were sealed with barricades. Students who tested in opposition to the authorities at universities were requested to visit their hometowns.
