The deadly novel coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak has been creating grim records around the world in recent times. The outbreak that probably started from the Chinese city of Wuhan has almost come under control in China. But in the Xinjiang province of China, reports have come that people are being forced to take unproven medication and are also facing draconian lockdowns.
During the height of the pandemic in the Xinjiang region when police arrested a middle-aged Uyghur woman, she was crammed into a cell with many other women in a detention center. She was also forced to drink medication that made her weak as the guards watched. Reportedly she and others also had to strip naked once in a week and cover their faces as the guards hosed then and their cells with disinfectant.
Residents Forced to Drink Chinese Traditional Medication
"It was scalding. My hands were ruined, my skin was peeling," a woman recounted as reported by the PTI. The authorities in Xinjiang have resorted to draconian measures for combating the deadly virus that includes physically locking the residents at homes imposing quarantines for over 40 days and arresting the people who do not comply. Moreover, some residents are also forced into having traditional Chinese medicine, as per reports.
There is no evidence backing the effectiveness of Chinese medicine in treating the virus and one of the herbal remedies used in the province has ingredients that are banned in Germany, Switzerland, and the US.
The lockdown in Xinjiang is also surprising because of the harshness of it. Moreover, in Wuhan, where the number of cases was very high residents were not forced to take traditional medications and were allowed to go out for groceries. The authorities mentioned that the steps were taken for the benefit of the residents. The draconian measures are not only imposed on the Uyghurs as Han residents are also forced to comply with the rules.
Many of the residents of Xinjiang in recent times have taken to social media to complain about the excessive measures that are imposed on them as a Han Chinese woman also posted a photo of herself drinking traditional medicine while questioning why they are forced to take medicines when they are not sick. Since the start of the pandemic, China has pushed traditional medicine and President Xi Jinping has also advocated a revival of the traditional culture of China.
