More than 100 officials in Tibet punished over zero-Covid failures

According to a report by the state-backed Tibet Daily, 22 officials in the regional capital Lhasa faced disciplinary action last week alone for negligence in coronavirus control.

Five of them had been fired and the rest handed stern warnings, the newspaper reported, citing local authorities.

Earlier, the Communist Party committee of the Tibetan city of Shannan bordering Nepal said six local officials had been pulled up over lapses in epidemic control work, of whom two were dismissed.

In Xigaze, the southwestern Tibetan city where the outbreak began, 77 officials faced disciplinary action this month for dereliction of duty in the Covid-19 battle, with 10 of them losing their jobs. A dozen other officials, meanwhile, were promoted for “outstanding performance”.

In the popular tropical getaway of Hainan, where snap lockdowns and train and flight suspensions stranded tens of thousands of visitors earlier this month, the party disciplinary commission took action against six officials.

They included Gu Hao, party chief of Jiyang district in the seaside resort town of Sanya, who was dismissed on August 16.

Known for its sandy beaches, luxury resorts and duty-free shopping, Sanya became a nightmare for some 80,000 tourists trapped in their hotels when authorities imposed a sudden lockdown on August 6 to curb a spiralling outbreak.

Official statements from both Tibet and Hainan said the officials were punished for their “lack of political standing”, “inadequate implementation of pandemic prevention and control work” and “serious bureaucracy, formalism, ineffective performance of duties [and] dereliction of duty”.

The harsh measures show zero-Covid is still the top item on China’s political agenda ahead of this year’s party congress, even though it has somewhat eased entry requirements in recent weeks, according to Alfred Wu, associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

This edition of the five-yearly congress is tipped to be a landmark event, with President Xi Jinping likely to start an unprecedented third term, alongside the usual major leadershi[ reshuffle.

“The large-scale punishment is a very clear reminder to local officials in China on what is the overriding priority right now. Allowing foreign students and businessmen to re-enter China [represents] just technical or tactical adjustments. Zero-Covid is still the most important, non-negotiable job domestically,” Wu said.

“Dishing out stern punishments is also one way for provincial or regional party chiefs to show their loyalty to Xi as it shows they are very serious about zero-Covid.”