China concedes to protestors' demands to ease daily commuting restrictions
Jun 20, 2022
Jiangsu [China], June 20 : Chinese authorities on Monday have conceded to the demands of protestors to ease the COVID restrictions for the resumption of commuting facilities between Shanghai-Kunshan.
On June 18, a large number of people in Jiangsu Chinese province held protests demanding the resumption of the commuting between Shanghai-Kunshan. To hold a demonstration, people gathered in Kunshan, Jiangsu which borders Shanghai. In the videos, protestors can be seen demanding the resumption of commuting facilities as well as unblocking.
The protestors raged as it was inconvenient for people to travel between the cities as public transportation between Shanghai and Kunshan draws the two cities closer. Many people commute by metro between the two cities since they live in one place but work in the other.
Another video shows that police were deployed to suppress the protests and many were also taken away. Following the protests, the Chinese authorities have conceded to the demands of the protestors and ordered the resumption of commuting between Shanghai-Kunshan from today.
A number of cities in East China's Jiangsu Province have resumed daily commute to and from Shanghai and eased quarantine measures for travelers from the neighboring megacity, reported Chinese local media Global Times.
Daily commutes to Shanghai will resume in an orderly manner starting Monday for people who have fixed residence or workplace in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, the local epidemic prevention and control authority announced on Sunday.
According to a statement released by the Kunshan epidemic prevention and control headquarters, commuters can travel between the two cities with electronic passes obtained by registering their personal information in a mobile app, a letter of commitment and negative results for nucleic acid testing obtained within 24 hours.
It is essential to note that Kunshan, as other cities around Shanghai, is home to a slew of manufacturing companies in the Yangtze River Delta region which serves a vital role in the national economic development.
Though the route was opened, the statement from the Kunshan authority noted that commuters have to travel in a closed-loop trip between their companies and their residences. The authorities said that they shall not go to medium- or high-risk areas or participate in any gathering activities.
However, in continuation with China's stern COVID measures those coming from medium- and high-risk regions in Shanghai are required to stay in centralized quarantine for seven days and another week at home, while people from other places in Shanghai will only have to stay at home for seven days for health monitoring.
