カタールではマスクなしのＷ杯観戦、中国で「ゼロコロナ」政策に疑問の声

【北京ＡＦＰ＝時事】世界の国々が新型コロナウイルス感染症（ＣＯＶＩＤ－１９）と共存している中、厳しい規制に疲弊している中国国民は、サポーターがサッカーＷ杯カタール大会をマスクなしで観戦している姿に怒りを噴出させ、政府の「ゼロコロナ」政策に疑問を投げ掛けている。（写真はサッカーＷ杯カタール大会の観客）
　新型コロナの感染拡大を国内で食い止める政策を掲げているのは、主要経済国では中国のみとなっており、現在でも継続して都市全体や居住区の封鎖が行われ、多くの人々がウイルス検査の義務を課されている。
　野村ホールディングスのアナリストによると、中国当局は２２日時点でこれまで人口の４分の１以上を何らかのロックダウン（都市封鎖）下に置いており、Ｗ杯で大いに沸いている観客とは対照的な状況に、中国のＳＮＳユーザーが怒りの声を上げた。
　広東省在住のウェイボー（微博）ユーザーは２３日、「マスクなしでじかにＷ杯を観戦している人がいれば、１か月も家で待機させられた人、あるいはドアから出られずに２か月もキャンパスに閉じ込められた人もいる」とし、「誰が私の生活を奪ったのか？ それは言わないでおこう」とつづった。
　陝西省に住む別のユーザーは、自分の国に「失望した」と投稿。「Ｗ杯のおかげで、中国の大半の人々は海外の実情を知り、祖国の経済や自国の若者を心配している」と書き込んだ。
　通信アプリの微信（ウィーチャット）では、国の新型コロナ政策に疑問を投げ掛け、中国とカタールが「同じ惑星にあるのか」を問いかける公開書簡が２２日に投稿された後、検閲により削除された。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/11/25-21:00）

Images of maskless crowds at the World Cup in Qatar have sparked anger in China, where people worn out by harsh Covid-19 restrictions are questioning their government's exceptional approach while the rest of the world lives alongside the virus.
China is the last major economy still attempting to stamp out the domestic spread of Covid-19, and has continued to shut down entire cities, seal off neighbourhoods and impose mandatory tests on millions.
Driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant, daily cases in the country hit 29,157 on Wednesday -- low compared to most other countries but nearing the domestic record set earlier this year.
Authorities have put more than a quarter of the Chinese population under some form of lockdown as of Tuesday, according to Nomura analysts -- a contrast with the raucous World Cup crowds that have infuriated many Chinese social media users.
Some people are watching World Cup matches in person with no masks, some have been locked at home for a month, locked on campus for two months without even being able to step out the door, a Guangdong-based user on the Twitter-like Weibo platform wrote on Wednesday.
Who has stolen my life? I won't say.
Another Weibo user from Shaanxi province said they were disappointed in their country.
The World Cup has allowed most Chinese people to see the real situation abroad, and worry about the economy of the motherland, and their own youth, the user wrote.
An open letter questioning the country's Covid-19 policies and asking if China was on the same planet as Qatar spread on the popular WeChat messaging app on Tuesday, before censors removed it from the platform.
World Cup matches are aired in China by state-owned CCTV -- the same broadcaster that has bombarded domestic audiences with negative reports of mass deaths and chaos caused by Covid in geopolitical rival the United States.
Nigeria's anti-epidemic work has clear results... we don't learn from Nigeria, and only look at US data, what is the real meaning of this for our epidemic prevention? the open letter asked.
Public anger over the seemingly arbitrary restrictions and sudden disruptions has recently erupted in rare protests, including in southern China's Guangzhou this month where hundreds of residents took to the streets in defiance of a compulsory lockdown.