Nobody Escapes-China bans on “unnecessary” overseas travel

China has stopped renewing passports and issuing new ones to Chinese citizens since July 30, 2021. However, that’s not enough for the government to crack down on people escaping the country. Today China just announced it will strict limit unnecessary overseas travel for Chinese citizens to prevent the virus being brought into the country.

“Don’t go out unless necessary, don’t leave the country unless necessary, don’t be born unless necessary,” one popular comment in reaction to the news on Weibo, a Chinese social media like Twitter.

While witnessing the chaos and dysfunction in the lockdown of Shanghai, fears rise over new government-enforced lockdowns — especially in the capital Beijing, where Covid cases are rising.

Today’s announcement of travel ban extinguished the hope to escape for those who still hold valid passports.

China gets older: 2020 census worries Beijing

China’s birth rate was 1.3 children per woman, well below the replacement level-2.1— the rate needed to maintain a stable population. The data also showed a sharp rise in the percentage of Chinese aged 60 and above, to 18.7% of the population from 13.3% in 2010.

Experts say the slowdown birth rate is rooted in several trends, including the rise of women in the work force who are educated and don’t see marriage as necessary to achieving financial security, at least for themselves. For Chinese couples, many cannot afford to have children as living costs increase and their jobs demand more time and energy. Basically, it’s a society where nobody wants to get married and people can’t afford to have children.

China jails “gene-edited babies” scientist for three years

He Jiankui, a scientist in China who said he had created the world’s first gene-edited babies, has been jailed for three years.

He was convicted of violating a government ban by carrying out his own experiments on human embryos, to try to give them protection against HIV.

He was globally condemned when he announced his experiments, and the birth of twin babies, last November.

Outrage in China over thousands of faulty vaccines for children

China’s Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) has launched an investigation into vaccine manufacturer Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology, revoking its license for human rabies vaccines and beginning a recall of all unused vaccines produced by the company.

Many of the defective vaccines were already on the market and being given to Chinese children, as part of the mandatory national vaccination program.

Social-media users expressed anger and disillusionment at the country’s seeming lack of regard for children’s safety—a problem that has recurred over and over since the 2008 tainted-milk scandal. ”Don’t let children grow up in this land. Otherwise, you’ll be sorry to you children. There was toxic milk powder, then the RYB kindergarten scandal, now toxic vaccines, what’s next?!” one user wrote on social media site Weibo, yet the message was censored and deleted soon.

Ironically, in Chinese, the term Changsheng is a play on words meaning “long life.”