Elderly Protest Health Insurance Cuts In Chinas Wuhan

CNN Hong Kong -

Protests erupted in central China's Wuhan on Wednesday as elderly residents voiced their displeasure over the local government's reform of public health insurance, which took effect earlier this month.

Photos and videos of a protest in Wuhan that circulated on social media and were seen by CNN showed a large crowd of seniors gathered in front of a park in the center of the city to protest cuts to their medical facilities.

In some footage, the crowd can be heard singing the unofficial protest anthem "The International".

Police and government officials have yet to publicly comment on the situation. It is not known if anyone has been arrested. Footage shows a strong police presence and in at least one case police tried to hold back the crowd.

Although demonstrations and expressions of discontent are tightly controlled in China, dissatisfaction with livelihood and environmental issues often leads to small crowd protests at the local level.

A protest in Wuhan, where the first cases of Covid-19 were reported more than three years ago, appears to be the latest public outcry as the country grapples with the fallout from strict COVID-19 policies that have been relaxed since the end of the year. . by the government amid rare nationwide protests and rising spending.

China is set to post its worst economic performance in decades in 2022, according to official figures, and local governments are facing budget gaps after supporting mass testing, emergency lockdowns and centralized quarantines in line with the policy.

Wednesday's protest came amid signals from the central government that it would not bail out local governments as their debt soars amid these financial constraints.

It was at least the second protest in a week in Wuhan, home to more than 11 million people. Videos circulating on social media last week showed a large crowd of elderly people protesting the same issue.

While the government did not directly comment on last week's protests, Wuhan's health authorities later issued a statement acknowledging the reform, saying it would "reduce medical facilities in the short term" but "care for the sick and elderly" in the coming years. .

Authorities said in January that elderly people in China make up a fifth of its 1.4 billion population, while the number of people aged 60 and over rose to 280 million last year. The country's population is set to decline for the first time in more than 60 years in 2022 due to a slowing economy and a deep demographic crisis with significant implications for care of the elderly.

Ongoing protests against COVID-19 in China