China sent fake Covid infection alerts ‘to stop protesters’

CHINA has been accused of sending false Covid infection alerts to protesters to ban them from demonstrations, raising fears that Beijing is using quarantine rules to control its population.

After four banks in the central province of Henan blocked access to at least £147million of deposits in April, thousands of clients started travelling to the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to attempt to withdraw their money and in some cases hold protests.

But in recent days, travellers found their health code apps, which China uses to track Covid infections and restrict people’s movements, turned red as soon as they entered Zhengzhou or after informing their local authorities they intended to travel to the city.

Health code apps usually turn red if a person has tested positive for Covid or is believed to have been infected.

People cannot access public transportation, enter shopping malls or restaurants, or travel between cities unless their health code apps are green.

Rights groups have warned that China could use its vast Covid infrastructure to attempt to stifle dissent by blocking freedom of movement.

More than a dozen clients at rural banks in Henan, including New Oriental Country Bank of Kaifeng, Yuzhou Xinminsheng Village Bank and Shangcai Huimin County Bank, have told Chinese publication Sixth Tone their health apps turned red as soon as they scanned QR codes at railway stations, hotels and other venues in Zhengzhou, which alerted police.

“We have reasonable and legitimate claims, but they used the red code as a reason to restrict us,” Wang Jin, a man from Hebei province, near Beijing, told Sixth Tone. “[Police] said our health codes will turn green when we leave, and until then we need to stay at the police station.”

Hu Xijin, a Chinese commentator, wrote on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, that “health codes” should “only be used purely for pandemic prevention purposes”.