Lid blown off worrying Chinese Covid coverup in Tibet

By Vipin Vijayan | First Published Sep 26, 2022, 12:28 PM IST

'China is downright disregarding the safety and security of Tibetans in need of medical assistance and Covid care, evidenced by the dire lockdown conditions being reported and exposed online by several affected Tibetans,' Central Tibetan Administration spokesperson Tenzin Lekshay said in a statement.

Tibet's government-in-exile has lashed out at China, stating that the draconian measures adopted by Beijing to enforce its Zero-Covid policy is causing moire harm than good.

Central Tibetan Administration spokesperson Tenzin Lekshay said that the Zero-Covid policy, prioritised by Chinese President Xi Jinping, is likely being used to seize and suppress the Chinese Communist Party's "so-called" dissenters ahead of the 20th National Congress.

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'In an attempt to present itself as a role model in curbing the outbreak, China is downright disregarding the safety and security of Tibetans in need of medical assistance and Covid care, evidenced by the dire lockdown conditions being reported and exposed online by a number of affected Tibetans,' Tenzin said in a statement on Monday.

Press Statement: China's Mismanaged Zero-Covid Policy Endangers Tibetan Lives in Tibet pic.twitter.com/gmiJr9CSSm

— Tenzin Lekshay (@CTASpokesperson)

'Tibetans complained about crowded quarantine facilities, food scarcity, lack of medical supplies and unhygienic living conditions. Some likened the condition to be worse than being a prisoner,' the statement added.

Currently, an estimated 53,076 people reside in isolation centres in Tibet Autonomous Region alone. A number of Tibetan areas out the Tibet Autonomous Region, including Karze and Ngaba in Kham and Amdo provinces, respectively, continue to report daily Covid cases resulting in sporadic lockdowns, Chengdu being the worst-hit area in China's Sichuan.

Tenzin claimed that the Chinese propaganda machinery had been actively covering up the situation. 'China's state media claimed no shortcomings in the implementation of the zero-Covid policy in the latest Covid outbreak in Tibet. When the cases escalated, Chinese authorities labelled the BA. 2.76 virus as a foreign import and misled the public with false claims,' he said, adding that 'several propaganda videos even depicted Chinese Communist Party leaders as heroes in the 'tough battle against Covid',' he said.

The reality is that the makeshift hospitals and buses used to transport the patients there were not just overcrowded but tacky, he said, adding that the facilities lacked clean drinking water, food, health facilities and a healthy environment. Tenzin went on to claim that the spread of the virus proliferated due to the officials' mismanagement of mixing the infected with those who were not infected.

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