Category China Mask Mandates

Dec 12 2022

China & the Cycles


Armstrong Economics Blog/China Re-P osted Dec 12, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The Tiananmen Square protests culminated on June 4th, 1989 (1989.424). While the COVID Protests have been rising in China and the lockdowns have been deployed more so for the control of civil unrest which may start to come to a head by October 2023, the Pi Target was October 27th, 2020 and the day before, the 26th, was when US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reneged on all previous agreements with China since Nixon. He issued a statement regarding Taiwan and launched a new Cold War with China. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on the precise target of the 27th made it clear that the Biden Administration violated all previous agreements including the one-China principle. The whole Biden statements and Pelosi’s trip suddenly supporting Taiwan appears to have been to actually instigate a war. It now appears with rising civil unrest, governments typically need an external diversion and that may now become Taiwan.

Nov 28 2022

Chang: China Protests Are Revolutionary


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on Newsmax TV Published November 28, 2022

People are pushing back hard against the CCP’s zero-Covid policy. Gordon Chang joins us to discuss the government’s brutal crackdown and the intense pressure mounting on President Xi.

Nov 28 2022

COVID Lockdown Horror Leads to Massive Uprisings and Protests in China


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on November 27, 2022 | Sundance 

On November 23rd a fire broke out in Urumqi’s Jixiang Yuan district in an apartment complex. Because of the Chinese COVID lockdown, it is claimed the doors to the building were locked from the outside; people could not escape.  Jennifer Zeng has been documenting the story on Twitter.

Fire trucks were not permitted to get close enough to the building and the people locked inside could not escape.

Chinese media initially said 10 people were killed; however, it was widely believed the death toll exceeds that number with a 3-year-old included.  The current death toll stands at 44 victims.

This horrific event seems to have become the inflection point for a large uprising against the Chinese Communist Party and the continual COVID lockdown rules.

(MSM) “Now the episode in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region, has unleashed the most defiant eruption of public anger against the ruling Communist Party in years. In cities across China this weekend, thousands gathered with candles and flowers to mourn the fire’s victims. On campuses, students staged vigils, many holding up pieces of blank white paper in mute protest. In Shanghai, some residents even called for the Communist Party and its leader, Xi Jinping, to step down, a rare and bold challenge.”

For the past several days mass protests have been spreading throughout the populous region. Things are getting very spicy as the communist government does not accept civil disturbances as a right of protest.

SHANGHAI (AP) — Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China’s powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party.

Police using pepper spray drove away demonstrators in Shanghai who called for Xi Jinping to step down and an end to one-party rule, but hours later people rallied again in the same spot. Police again broke up the demonstration, and a reporter saw protesters under arrest being driven away in a bus.

The protests — which began Friday and have spread to cities including the capital, Beijing, and dozens of university campuses — are the most widespread show of opposition to the ruling party in decades.

In a video of the protest in Shanghai verified by The Associated Press, chants against Xi, the most powerful leader since at least the 1980s, and the Chinese Communist Party sounded loud and clear: “Xi Jinping! Step down! CCP! Step down!” (read more)

The CCP is also cracking down on western journalists who are reporting on the protests.

Nov 21 2022

Largest iPhone Factory Hires 100K Employees after Lockdown Scare


Armstrong Economics Blog/China Re-Posted Nov 21, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Apple iPhone 14 production slowdown from the Foxconn manufacturing plant in China continues. A high percentage of workers fled the world’s largest iPhone factory as soon as the lockdown went into effect. Reports state that the site, only weeks ago, that Foxconn looked like an abandoned center piled high with workers’ belongings as the government simply tossed all dissenters’ possessions out of windows to be discarded. That is how quickly people had to flee. Foxconn had to recruit 100,000 new employees after the incident.

The Chinese recall horror stories from past lockdowns, only a few months ago, where food and aid were not available, and the government could not properly ration essentials.

China’s business confidence survey from October showed that 55% of companies lost confidence in doing business in China in the short term. The Zero COVID policy is scaring business from China. Yet, China’s refusal to forego COVID restrictions points to a bigger problem. The banks are in the midst of a liquidity crisis, printing money is not an option, and lockdowns are an effective way to control the population’s movement.

Nov 15 2022

China’s COVID frustrations spark unrest


Reuters Published originally on Rumble on November 15, 2022 

Videos obtained by Reuters showed crowds topple police barricades in street to protest against covid curbs in Guangzhou, China. Among all the latest outbreaks in China, Guangzhou has the biggest caseload, with new daily infections of COVID-19 topping 5,000 for the first time and fuelling speculation that localised lockdowns could widen.

Sep 7 2022

Millions of Chinese on Lockdown


Armstrong Economics Blog/China Re-Posted Sep 7, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

At least 65 people are dead after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the province of Sichuan. This comes as 21 million people in Chengdu are confined to their homes as China has placed yet another city on a strict lockdown to adhere to its zero COVID policy. In fact, 65 million people in 33 cities are on some level of lockdown in China.

The government places more concern on COVID than an actual natural disaster. Lockdowns create a domino effect. People began panic buying supplies after seeing the starvation and extreme rationing that occurred during the last lockdown when the government was unable to adequately provide supplies to those they confined. Businesses will suffer immensely. Children in at least 10 provinces will be unable to attend school until everyone tests negative for the virus.

Drones are flying around Chengdu, reminding the people to stay inside and obey. This is an example of what could happen when government has complete power over the people. It can also affect the global economy, as we saw when Shenzhen entered a lockdown, closed the ports, and prolonged the supply chain crisis. Government’s abuse of power is yet another reason why it is hard for the central banks to forecast economic recovery. According to our computers, the recovery will be a slow

Sep 4 2022

Millions locked-down in Shenzen over COVID fears


Reuters Published originally on Rumble on September 3, 2022

The Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen on Saturday (September 3) shut parts of city and public transport, as cities across China battled COVID-19 outbreaks that have dampened the outlook for economic recovery.

Aug 25 2022

Chinese Protestors Escape Facial Recognition with Lasers


Armstrong Economics Blog/China Re-Posted Aug 25, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Welcome to the new world. Protestors in China have cleverly found a way to avoid police facial recognition software by pointing an array of lasers at the police. China has perhaps the most extensive facial recognition of any country. SenseNets, a facial recognitional company in Shenzhen, experienced an internal leak in early 2019. The database contained detailed information on over 2.5 million people, including their addresses, IDs, birthdays, and their movement around the country. Over 6.8 million locations were revealed during the leak, leaving everyone in the software completely exposed to hackers who could determine their exact location.

The government is not merely tracking the movement of criminals as everyone will eventually become part of a facial recognition database. China took measures a step further in 2020 by issuing each individual a social credit score that rates how well an individual adheres to the government. We are not free when the government can restrict our movements and assign us a score based on their personal criteria. Facial recognition software is extremely dangerous. Hackers made little effort to access SenseNets files, and in the wrong hands, anyone could be hunted down.

Although they’re less upfront about their plans, other countries plan to follow suit. Canada is rolling out its Digital Identification program, and the World Economic Forum has been advocating for advanced tracking measures. Expect additional tracking software to become commonplace throughout the modern world.

Apr 23 2022

Wealthy Flee Shanghai


Armstrong Economics Blog/China Re-Posted Apr 22, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The lockdown in Shanghai has caused immeasurable damage to the people and battered an already stunted global supply chain. The wealthy are now fleeing the city, as numerous agencies have reported a large uptick in immigration requests. The Financial Times reported a 7-fold increase in the search term “immigration” among residents.

The media has downplayed this story as they do not want the people to remember governments’ capabilities. As with the fall of many great cities, the wealthy are the first to leave. Shanghai may be one of the richest cities in China, but it is not immune to government tyranny.

Only 25 deaths in Shanghai were attributed to the coronavirus, but over 25 million people directly suffered from this lockdown. The lockdown was not about safety. Warehouses are beginning to open, but the world’s largest port ceased operations. Again, no world leaders commented heavily on these major issues.

Pets of the “infected” were eliminated by the government. There were reports of people jumping from high rises and others begging the police to take them to jail with the hope of having a meal. No world leaders have commented on these human rights abuses as they were done in the name of COVID.

Apr 13 2022

The World’s Busiest Shipping Port is Closed


Armstrong Economics Blog/China Re-Posted Apr 13, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Shanghai went under a full lockdown at the end of March under China’s zero-COVID tolerance policy. When cases allegedly rose, China extended the lockdown indefinitely. Shanghai hosts the busiest container port in the world, and its inability to operate is contributing to the supply chain crisis in a profound way. A member of the EU Chamber of Commerce’s Shanghai Chapter estimated that volume was down by 40% during the first week that the ports were prohibited from operating. There is no set date for when the port will resume operation.

It is estimated that the lockdown currently imposed has imprisoned an alarming 25 million Chinese citizens in their homes, but the implications of shutting down the world’s largest shipping port amidst a supply crisis will send aftershocks throughout the global economy. To understand how crucial Shanghai’s port is to the global flow of goods, the Port of Shanghai hosts over quadruple the volume of the Port of Los Angeles (one of America’s largest shipping ports).

Those in the industry warned that this would cause problems. One of the largest international container companies, Maersk, said that Shanghai’s shutdown would cause a 30% rise in trucking costs alone.

Some businesses are operating the “closed loop” system where employees are basically unable to leave their place of work. Still, the port cannot operate with the current restrictions as there are simply not enough available workers. This is completely unsustainable. China is throwing gas on the rapidly burning supply chain and inflation crises with their current policies that will be felt across the world.