thousands of retirees protest cuts in health benefits

Demonstrations in Wuhan and Dalian. After public protests, the Guangdong provincial government withdrew the measure. Local authorities must recoup the billions of yuan that COVID-19 containment measures cost. Xi’s modernization model is faltering.

Beijing () – Thousands of retirees protested yesterday in Wuhan (Hubei) and Dalian (Liaoning) against the cuts in health benefits decided by the health authorities. Scenes of clashes between the police and groups of protesters chanting slogans and chanting “The Socialist International” circulate on the web.

It is the second time in a week that former workers in state companies have demonstrated against the reduction in benefits offered by public insurance plans. The previous one also took place in Wuhan on February 8, in front of the municipal government headquarters. Radio Free Asia reported that in Guangzhou (Guangdong) such demonstrations forced local administrators to withdraw the measure.

The criticism circulating on social networks accuses the provincial governments of wanting to cut health benefits for retirees to recover the enormous sums they spent in three years of the pandemic on prevention measures, such as mandatory mass tests and forced confinement in special centers for quarantine.

According to official data, 20 Chinese provinces out of a total of 31 have spent 352 billion yuan (about 48 billion euros) on containment measures for Covid-19. The central government has already declared that it will not disburse aid to indebted local authorities, whose finances have been hit hard by Xi’s zero-Covid policy.

After popular protests in late November that led to the sudden relaxation of draconian anti-Covid-19 restrictions, Xi Jinping is faced with a new social problem, amplified by rising health care costs for Chinese families. . All this when there are only a few weeks to go before the annual meeting of the National Popular Assembly, which coincides with the start of his controversial third term in power.

Just a few days ago, the supreme leader hailed China’s “modernization” as a new model of human progress, which may dispel the myth that “modernity identifies with the West.”

Social unrest stemming from the country’s economic difficulties will test Xi’s remarks as well as his political future, which depends to a large extent on the performance of the national economy.

In addition to what has happened in recent days, it should be remembered that in early January hundreds of workers at a Covid-19 antigen kit factory protested in Chongqing because they had lost their jobs and received less than agreed wages. Images of clashes between protesters and riot police circulated on social media.

On January 7, workers at Gogo Garment Manufacturing Ltd, which for years has been the largest underwear maker in Dongguan (Guangdong), China’s main manufacturing center, also demonstrated against non-payment of wages and social benefits. Three days after the demonstrations, Gogo closed the company, putting 1,700 people out of work.

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