'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
More Chinese cities eased anti-virus restrictions and police patrolled their streets Thursday as the government tried to defuse public anger over some of the world's most stringent COVID-19 measures and head off more protests.
Following weekend demonstrations at which some crowds made the politically explosive demand that leader Xi Jinping resign, the streets of major cities have been quiet in the face of a crackdown that has been largely out of sight.
Guangzhou in the south, Shijiazhuang in the north, Chengdu in the southwest and other major cities announced they were easing testing requirements and controls on movement. In some areas, markets and bus service reopened. A newspaper reported Beijing, the capital, has begun allowing some people with the virus to isolate at home, avoiding crowded quarantine centres that have prompted complaints. The government didn't immediately respond to a request for confirmation.
But many of the rules that brought people into the streets of Shanghai, Beijing and at least six other cities remain in force. The death of former leader Jiang Zemin this week could provide another opportunity for crowds to gather and potentially protest.
The announcements easing restrictions didn't mention last weekend's protests of the human cost of anti-virus measures that confine millions of people to their homes. But the timing and publicity suggested Xi's government was trying to mollify public anger.
While experts say Beijing's policies are unsustainable, they warn it can't relax controls that keep most travelers out of China until tens of millions of older people are vaccinated. They say that means "zero COVID" might stay in place for as much as another year.
With a heavy police presence, there was no indication of protests Thursday. Notes on social media complained people were being stopped at random for police to check smartphones, possibly looking for prohibited apps such as Twitter, in what they said was a violation of China's Constitution.
"I am especially afraid of becoming the `Xinjiang model' and being searched on the excuse of walking around," said a posting signed Qi Xiaojin on the popular Sina Weibo platform, referring to the northwestern region where Uyghur and other Muslim minorities are under intense surveillance.
Protesters have publicized protests on Twitter and other foreign social media that the Communist Party tries to block access to, while videos and photos are deleted from services within China. But police appeared to be trying to keep their crackdown out of sight, possibly to avoid encouraging others by drawing attention to the scale of the protests.
On Thursday, the government reported 36,061 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, including 31,911 without symptoms.
The industrial centres of Shenyang and Harbin in the northeast announced that students who attend school online and other people who have minimal interaction with others would no longer be required to take virus tests that have been administered as often as once a day.
In Beijing, some neighbourhoods have begun allowing people with mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 cases to isolate at home, the newspaper Yicai reported on its website. The anti-epidemic agency didn't respond to questions sent to its office by fax.
The report gave no details, but a post on the social media account of the district government of Gaobeidian on Thursday said people there who test positive can stay at home. It was later deleted.
Meanwhile, state TV announced the funeral for Jiang, who was ruling party leader until 2002 and president until the following year, will be held Tuesday at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China's ceremonial legislature in central Beijing. Jiang died Wednesday at 96.
No foreign dignitaries will be invited in line with Chinese tradition, the party announced. It said there would be no "body farewell ceremony," possibly due to anti-virus controls.
Washington is watching the "very heavy security" in Beijing and other cities with "great care and great attention," Ambassador Nicholas Burns said in an online appearance to an audience in Chicago. He gave no indication the Biden administration was taking any action.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended its virus response and dismissed U.S. criticism.
"Facts have proven that China's epidemic response measures are science-based, correct and effective," said a ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian. Noting the U.S. death toll, he said the country "is in no position to point fingers at China's COVID response."
Xi's government has promised to reduce the disruption of its "zero COVID" strategy by shortening quarantines and making other changes. But it says it will stick to restrictions that have repeatedly shut down schools and businesses and suspended access to neighbourhoods.
Protests of the rules began Friday after at least 10 people were killed in a fire in an apartment building in Urumqi in Xinjiang. That prompted questions about whether firefighters or victims trying to escape were blocked by locked doors or other controls. Authorities denied that, but the deaths became a focus for public frustration.
The government says it is making restrictions more targeted and flexible, but a spike in infections since October has prompted local officials who are threatened with the loss of their jobs if an outbreak occurs to impose controls that some residents say are excessive and destructive.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.