Reuters (November 28)
“Thousands of people are taking to the streets in several cities across the country in an unprecedented protest against the government’s stringent COVID restrictions.” This sort of unrest “does not happen very often, and the world is watching intently to see how Beijing handles the brewing crisis.”
Tags: Beijing, China, Cities, COVID restrictions, Government, People, Protest, Stringent, Thousands, Unprecedented, Unrest
Reuters (October 17)
“Local governments have long been a pump-primer of China’s growth, but declining state land sales revenue in the wake of an ongoing crackdown on debt in the sector has severely eroded their financial power – a situation exacerbated this year by China’s feeble growth, weak tax income and crippling COVID restrictions.” These bodies now face budget shortfalls of roughly $1 trillion. Amid China’s wobbly economy, “the timing couldn’t be worse.”
Tags: Budget shortfalls, China, COVID restrictions, Crackdown, Debt, Declining Land sales revenue, Economy, Eroded, Feeble, Financial power, Growth, Local governments, Pump-primer, Tax income
