Chinese elderly, including retirees, joined hundreds of protesters to oppose the government's reduction of health benefits that would see lower payouts for medicine and outpatient care.
The demonstrations in the Asian country have been going on for roughly a week and have underscored the mounting pressure on the Chinese Communist Party. People are demanding that the Chinese government provide improved social care for a rapidly aging population.
Chinese Elderly Protest
The demands come as local government coffers have already been depleted by China's massive "zero-COVID" expenses. Last week hundreds of elderly residents gathered outside the city hall in Wuhan. They opposed the changes lawmakers made to state health insurance, which involved a reduction in monthly medical claims.
Authorities reduced these benefits to only become one-third of the previously claimable amount. Side-by-side while huddling beneath umbrellas and being watched by police, the crowd, which remained relatively peaceful, sang the revolutionary anthem "The Internationale."
The protesters also chanted slogans that called for the government to explain the change, as seen by video footage of the demonstration that was shared online. Protesters argued that if no resolution is reached, they will conduct a second mass demonstration after a week, as per the Washington Post.
That promise was fulfilled as protesters gathered in central Zhongshan Park and nearby streets on Wednesday. A second group of demonstrators was seen a couple of blocks away near the Wuhan Union Hospital.
Authorities, this time, reacted more forcefully to protesters. The city's metro did not stop at the nearest station, which was seen as an attempt to curb attendance at the protest. Video footage also showed that law enforcement personnel and demonstrators pushed each other. Some protesters tried to climb barriers to escape confrontation but were forcefully pulled back by officers in uniforms.
While the Wuhan encounters escalated, a separate protest was starting in Dalian that was attended by hundreds of elderly citizens. They were seen wrapped up in winter jackets and gathered on People's Square to oppose the changes made by lawmakers.
Mounting Pressure on Beijing
The second round of protests pressures Chinese President Xi Jinping's government only weeks before the National People's Congress. The protests come after thousands of young Chinese last year took part in demonstrations that forced Beijing to overturn its strict zero-COVID policies, according to BBC.
Chinese residents have grown tired of the mass testing and sudden, often sweeping lockdowns impacting the country's economy. The sudden reversal of the policy resulted in a sudden uptick in deaths related to the coronavirus.
China's social frictions may reappear as the nation suffers slow economic growth and an aging population. The Asian country is seen as having one of the world's highest levels of income inequality.
The system that protesters are arguing against consists of two parts, a collective pool of funds and each individual's account. The local government's decision, which many are opposed to, was to reduce the amount of money deposited into each person's account, said the New York Times.
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