China denies short-term visas to South Koreans in payback over COVID-19 rules
China’s embassy in Seoul said on Tuesday it has stopped issuing short-term visas for visitors from South Korea, the first retaliatory move against countries imposing COVID-19 curbs on travellers from China, where the virus is spreading unchecked.
With the virus let loose, China has stopped publishing daily infection tallies. It has been reporting five or fewer deaths a day since the policy U-turn, figures that have been disputed by the World Health Organisation and are inconsistent with funeral homes reporting a surge in demand for their services.
Although Beijing also demands negative COVID test results from anyone landing in China, officials last week threatened retaliation against countries mandating tests for people coming from China. The announcement comes a day after a phone call between Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his South Korean counterpart Park Jin, where the curbs were raised.
Yin Yong, acting mayor of Beijing, said the capital was also past its peak. Li Pan, deputy director of the Municipal Health Commission in the city of Chongqing said the peak there was reached on Dec. 20. Although daily flights in and out of China are still a tenth of pre-COVID levels for the moment, businesses across Asia, including South Korean and Japanese shop owners, Thai tour bus operators and K-pop groups are licking their lips at the prospect of more Chinese tourists.The retaliation against South Korea was not the only COVID conflict brewing in China.“It is not a secret that U.S.
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