People wait in front a board showing international flight arrivals at Tokyo's Haneda international airport on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022. Hong Kong authorities asked Japan to remove restrictions on direct flights from the city, which were imposed following the explosion of coronavirus cases in mainland China. (Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)
People wait in front a board showing international flight arrivals at Tokyo's Haneda international airport on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022. Hong Kong authorities asked Japan to remove restrictions on direct flights from the city, which were imposed following the explosion of coronavirus cases in mainland China. (Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)
PHILIP FONG/Getty Images North America/TNSChina said it would hit back at nations that placed COVID-19 restrictions on its travelers for “political goals,” showing the coronavirus remains a politically sensitive subject in Beijing even as it lets the virus run rampant.
“We believe that some countries’ entry restrictions targeting only China lack scientific basis and some excessive measures are unacceptable,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Tuesday at a regular press briefing in Beijing.
“We firmly oppose attempts to manipulate COVID prevention and control measures to achieve political goals, and China will take corresponding measures based on the principle of reciprocity in different situations,” she said, without naming any individual countries. She added that China was ready to “strengthen communication with the international community and work together to defeat COVID.”
The U.S., Japan and some other countries are requiring travelers from China to show a negative test before allowing them to enter, and Taiwan has said it will quarantine positive cases. The tightening measures come as China disbands its strict "COVID-zero" strategy after nearly three years — one that made entering the Asian nation very difficult because it required all arrivals to isolate for days in hotels or camps.
A deluge of cases, combined with a lack of information from the Chinese government about how many people are sick or dying, has raised concern over the possibility that new strains of the virus will emerge.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Italy said it would begin testing all arrivals from China after almost half of the passengers on two recent flights to Milan were found to have the virus. The European nation later said it didn’t find any new concerning COVID-19 mutations among the arrivals from China who tested positive.
COVID-19 has been a politically sensitive topic in China since first appeared in the nation some three years ago. Former President Donald Trump angered Beijing by repeatedly referring to the “China virus,” prompting China’s diplomats to spread the conspiracy theory that the virus may have originated in U.S. bioweapons labs.
In April 2020, former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison upset China by calling for an international investigation into the origins of COVID-19. Beijing later placed trade sanctions on a number of Australian exports, including wine, barley and meat.
A visit to Beijing last month by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has helped thaw relations with China, though trade barriers remain in place.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
On Sunday, it was time for our clocks to "spring forward," lessening the night's sleep by one hour. While it may not seem too significant, Daylight Saving Time can definitely throw everyone for a loop. How do you handle it?
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Thank you.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Ends: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Please log in, or sign up for a new, free account to read or post comments.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.