Beijing's Covid Paranoia Is Alienating China's Diaspora

For decades, China tried to foster strong ties with its own diaspora to benefit from for the talent and money spread around the world. The Thousand Talents recruitment programs, for example, enticed top-notch scientists to bring their research home. It was a breeze to travel to the mainland even for some who no longer held a Chinese passport. If they lived in Hong Kong or Macau, they didn’t need a visa and could enter the country with a home return permit.

The pandemic has changed everything. Pursuing a Covid-zero strategy, Beijing views overseas Chinese with suspicion, paranoid that they would re-import the infectious disease. It would certainly not be politically propitious for an outbreak to occur just before the 20th National Party Congress late next year. That would be a bad omen for President Xi Jinping, who is expected to secure an unprecedented third term then.