Hundreds of retirees took to the streets of the Chinese cities of Wuhan and Dalian on Wednesday to protest cuts in medical benefits, according to residents and social media posts, following widespread demonstrations last year over restrictions on COVID.
In the central city of Wuhan, hundreds of people, mostly elderly, could be seen outside the city’s central Zhongshan Park in videos posted on social media.
A video from Wuhan verified by Reuters showed shoving between protesters and uniformed security personnel. Reuters could not immediately verify the images of Dalian and some others from Wuhan widely shared on social media.
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The demonstrations come weeks before China’s annual parliamentary meeting in early March.
Retirees were protesting local reforms, including a recent cut in the monthly personal health benefits allowance for retirees, from $38 to $12 a month, according to Wuhan residents. It followed a protest on the same issue last week in Wuhan.
Some sang songs, including Internationale, which is popular at protests in China. Others held up phones and recorded the event.
“This money is very little, but for the elderly it is life-saving money,” said Zhang Hai, a Wuhan resident, who did not attend Wednesday’s protest but said some of his friends did.
Demonstrators gather in front of Zhongshan Park to protest changes to medical benefits in Wuhan, China on February 15, 2023. (Reuters)
“People are not prosperous, so every little bit of money is very important,” he told Reuters.
While street protests over local issues are not uncommon in China, Wednesday’s events follow rare demonstrations in November in cities across the country over China’s tough zero-COVID policy, which Beijing abruptly abandoned in December.
The protests come as many local governments are under fiscal pressure after COVID restrictions devastated the economy and as three years of spending on coronavirus controls dried up funds.
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In China’s health benefits system, part of the money goes to a personal medical allowance and other funds are pooled.
Protests in Wuhan and Dalian in northeast China on Wednesday drew a heavy security presence, according to videos and images on social media.
Local authorities in both cities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Several Wuhan residents said they believed police knew about the protest in advance as notices had circulated on social media advising people not to attend, including one seen by Reuters.
Residential authorities asked several of Zhang’s friends who planned to attend to sign a pledge “not to hold illegal protests, gatherings or demonstrations in public spaces” or post content about the protest, according to a copy of a notice seen by Reuters.
The police prohibited them from leaving their homes, Zhang added.
