A manufacturing hub in central China is allegedly abusing its Covid control measures to prevent investors who say they have been swindled out of billions of dollars in a suspected financial scam from returning to the city to protest.
A manufacturing hub in central China is allegedly abusing its Covid control measures to prevent investors who say they have been swindled out of billions of dollars in a suspected financial scam from returning to the city to protest.
Several people who claim to have been denied access to their money invested via online platforms said their health codes turned red when they scanned in at the main train station of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, meaning they could no longer move about freely. They had carried green health codes when they left their hometowns, said the people, who declined to be identified for fear of reprisals.
Such alleged use of health-code apps to track people beyond their intended purpose has caused a firestorm, adding to concerns that the strict Covid restrictions imposed in mainland China and Hong Kong are doubling as a form of social control. In Hong Kong, groups of more than four are still banned from gathering outdoors — though restaurants allow bigger groups at the same table — and the rule is widely seen as a way of preventing political protests.
A former…
