This summer, Yining, a city in China’s far western Xinjiang region, celebrated a boom in Chinese tourists looking for a sunny respite to avoid worries about travel. Covid in their hometown. Now, Yining is suffering from a weeks-long pandemic of its own, with residents calling for help because of limited food, difficulty buying medicine and a severe shortage of tampons for women.
People in the city of 600,000 have been ordered to stay in their homes since early August, forcing many to rely largely on neighborhood officials for supplies.
One resident contacted by phone said he gets food every five days but has little nutritional value – no fruit, vegetables or meat. He gave only his specific name, Zubayr, fearing retaliation from officials for describing the difficult conditions.
The conditions in Yining that people describe online or in phone interviews with The New York Times echo those of other cities in China that have closed to fulfill government pledges for “non-Covid”, keeping the infection of coronavirus close to zero. Some Shanghai residents loudly complained about shortages of food and medicine earlier this year after officials there were overwhelmed during a two-month citywide shutdown.
But Yining received little national attention until recently. It is located in the northwest corner of Xinjiang, an ethnically divided region that has been violently persecuted against the Uighurs, Kazakhs and other largely Muslim minorities. At the end of last month, According to the United Nations Office for Human Rights mass arrests and other repressive measures in Xinjiang by the Chinese government “could constitute international crimes, especially crimes against humanity”.
In recent days, complaints from Yining have increased online commentary in China. Uyghurs abroad have also shared messages describing dire conditions in isolation facilities to residents suspected of having been in close contact with infected people in Yining, which Uyghurs call Ghulja.
“I think what happened in Shanghai gets more attention, because it’s a financial center and the Chinese people might object to it,” said Rayhan Asat, a Uyghur human rights lawyer who is a fellow at the School Yale Law, said.
She talked about Yining and other confined areas of Xinjiang. “Many people don’t have the tools or the audacity to share what’s going on with them individually.”
In the coming weeks, other cities across China could come under similar pressure. The Communist Party will hold a major congress in mid-October, as delegates prepare to anoint Xi Jinping for another five years as national leader, and local governments are under pressure. There is a great deal of pressure on the outbreak of the stench of Covid that could disrupt or disrupt the meeting.
Other parts of Xinjiang, including the regional capital, Urumqi, have also been tightened by Covid restrictions. One outbreak of infection increased restrictions on Guiyang, a city of 4.5 million people in southwestern China’s Guizhou province. Beijing authorities say they have confirmed 10 Covid cases in the capital on Saturdayof which nine have been isolated on suspicion of having close links to known cases.
Even the scattered cases are a worry for officials preparing to host the party congress in Beijing. On Friday, Sun Chunlan, the deputy prime minister overseeing anti-pandemic efforts, told officials to be especially vigilant about Covid to ensure a successful congress.
“Upgrade the sensitivity of surveillance and early warning,” she said, according to Xinhua News AgencyChina’s main state news agency. At the same time, Ms. Sun advised officials to “minimize the impact of the pandemic on the life and work of the public”.
Until the end of July, officials in Yining were jubilant about the return of tourists to the area. In previous years, many visitors were deterred by the crackdown and fearsome security warnings across Xinjiang and later Covid.
With many Chinese unable to travel abroad and seek domestic vacations, tourism has rebounded to the point where some routes are choked by cars and buses. Xinjiang government promulgate rules that it says will prevent the spread of Covid while keeping visitors from being severely disrupted. Officials in the Yining . area open a travel festival with the ritual of hot air ballooning and horseback riding.
But at the end of July, Ili – the wider region that includes Yining – started publishing sporadic Covid cases every day: fourand then 20and then 67. Within a week, the region recorded more than 140 cases. Officials said the outbreak is from an Omicron variant of the coronavirus that originated abroad.
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At first, the Xinjiang authorities seemed hopeful that they could Limit the number of visitors and tighten checks without hindering a resurgence of tourists. But in mid-August Xinjiang government announced that holiday visits from other parts of China to Yining and other infection hotspots will be limited.
Yining authorities have kept news of the closure under wraps, but in interviews with The Times, residents said they have been ordered to stay home since early August. On August 13, Ma Xingrui, secretary of the Communist Party of Xinjiang, made a quick visit to the area and put pressure on local officials, reminding them of the “dynamic” Covid goals of the Communist Party of China. Mr. Xi.
“Let’s take stronger and more effective measures,” Mr. Ma told them, according to an official summary his comments.
Some residents say food delivery has been reduced to a monotonous diet of rice, instant noodles or instant noodles. They spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity because of concerns about a reaction from officials.
A resident named Azad said he had had nothing but instant noodles for two weeks, something he couldn’t deal with more than twice a day. He says it is wreaking havoc on his digestive system. Earlier in the strike, at least there was rice and naan.
Some women said in phone interviews that they couldn’t get tampons, making life very difficult.
Money is not the main issue, A woman who only gave her name, Madina. Items such as feminine hygiene products and diapers are often unavailable at official supply stations and simply sell out too quickly to buy online, she said.
Residents have also complained online and in letters to the government about dirty quarantine facilities, chaotic execution quarantine orders and the elderly are taken from their home for medical observation.
Officials have tried to address growing frustration in Yining by conceding defeats. Last week, they told journalists that there are There is no truth in the rumor that an elderly resident hanged himself after suffering severe starvation. The official local news service last week urged local officials to work too hard to avoid exacerbating angry residents.
“Just think: members of the public have been locked in their homes for over a month,” It says.
On Sunday, health authorities in Xinjiang reported that Yining had detected 12 cases of the previous day’s Covid infection.
