World

The United States announced Tuesday it had ordered all non-essential employees at its Shanghai consulate to leave, while voicing concerns for the safety of Americans in China as the government enforces hard lockdowns to contain Covid-19.

China has stuck tightly to a policy of “zero Covid”, aiming to eliminate infections through rigid lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions.

But the policy has come under strain since March as more than 100,000 cases in Shanghai have led to a lockdown of the city’s 25 million inhabitants, sparking widespread public outcry over food shortages and an inflexible policy of sending anyone who tests positive to quarantine centres.

The US State Department “ordered the departure due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak”, a spokesperson from its Beijing embassy said in a statement.

American diplomats have also raised “concerns about the safety and welfare of US citizens with People’s Republic of China officials,” the statement added. 

China’s largest city reported more than 23,000 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday.

Most of its residents remain under strict lockdown, although some who live in neighbourhoods deemed a low virus risk have been allowed outside their homes, sparking scenes of jubilation shared on Chinese social media.

The US embassy said last week it would permit non-essential employees to leave its Shanghai consulate due to the case surge, warning citizens in China they may face “arbitrary enforcement” of virus curbs. 

The State Department is now ordering employees to leave, as “it is best for our employees and their families to be reduced in number and our operations to be scaled down as we deal with the changing circumstances on the ground,” the spokesperson said in the statement.

China has hit back against US complaints about the Shanghai lockdown, with Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Saturday slamming the United States’ “groundless accusations” and insisting that China’s policy was “scientific and effective.”

Authorities have readied tens of thousands of new beds in more than 100 makeshift hospitals as part of a policy of isolating every person who tests positive for the virus — whether or not they show any symptoms.

Locals have begun to chafe at lockdown restrictions, with many taking to social media to vent anger at food shortages and heavy-handed controls — including the recent killing of a pet corgi by a health worker.

An unpopular policy of separating infected children from their virus-free parents — now softened — also triggered a rare show of public anger last week.

But officials are not budging on their zero-tolerance approach. 

City health official Wu Qianyu said during a Sunday press conference the city “would not relax in the slightest”.

Major online delivery platforms said they would bolster food stocks and draft thousands of drivers to strengthen the supply of basic goods.

Clutching pink flyers and face masks, diehard supporters of Philippine presidential hopeful Leni Robredo are going door to door across the archipelago nation in an against-the-odds bid to win over voters.

Nearly two million volunteers are involved in a grassroots movement for Robredo, the incumbent vice president, as she battles to close the gap with frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Junior before the May 9 polls. 

Voter surveys show the son of the country’s former dictator heading towards a landslide victory, the endgame of a decades-long, well-funded effort to return the powerful clan to the presidential palace they fled 36 years ago.

But there are signs Robredo’s pink-coloured campaign is finding traction, with huge rally turnouts, endorsements from pop stars and Catholic priests, and a bump in a recent poll raising hopes among her fervent fans.

“I’m really craving for change, for decency in the highest position,” said Rocelle Mendoza, 29, who uses her own money to print Robredo T-shirts and aprons that she gives away at markets in the capital Manila.

“We are aware that we have to climb a mountain. And I think it’s also why we’re no longer hesitating to spend.”

Some analysts have likened the feverish support for Robredo to the people-driven movement for former president Corazon Aquino in the 1986 snap election campaign that led to the ousting of Ferdinand Marcos Senior. 

Robredo, a widow and former congresswoman, made a last-minute decision to enter the presidential race in October after Marcos Jr declared his candidacy.

That set up a rematch with her rival in the 2016 vice presidential contest that she narrowly won. 

A volunteer-driven campaign mushroomed across the country, putting the mild-mannered Robredo in second place in the polls. 

But the chances of beating Marcos Jr again appear slim. 

Relentless attacks from President Rodrigo Duterte and a nasty misinformation campaign on social media have undermined Robredo’s popularity and eroded her support among local officials, who are key to garnering votes.

The latest poll by Pulse Asia Research shows her gaining ground, but Marcos Jr still leads by 32 percentage points.

“It remains a relatively tall mountain for Robredo to climb and is still Marcos’s race to lose,” said Eurasia Group analyst Peter Mumford. 

– ‘We won’t stop’ –

Marcos Jr has been bolstered by an alliance with first daughter and vice presidential favourite Sara Duterte, the backing of powerful political clans, and a massive social media campaign portraying his family in a positive light.

But Robredo’s loyal followers are undeterred, dipping into their own pockets to support the former lawyer for farmers and battered women in an election they see as critical for the country’s future. 

After six years of authoritarian firebrand Duterte and his deadly drug war, Robredo volunteers say they are scared of a Marcos Jr presidency, pointing to the human rights abuses committed during his father’s 20-year rule. 

“I’m afraid there will be a repeat of martial law. The videos I see about torture and rape, it’s scary,” said Sheilla Oledan, 31, as she door-knocked in suburban Manila.

So far, nearly two million volunteers have signed up to campaign for Robredo on social media and on the ground, said Georgina Hernandez Yang, joint leader of a group set up by the Robredo camp to coordinate volunteer efforts.

They belong to groups representing diverse interests and ages, such as “Seniors for Leni”, “Doctors for Leni”, and “Youth Vote for Leni”.

Talking to people face-to-face was the best way to “break out of our echo chambers” on social media, said Yang.

“There’s a lot of fake news and disinformation that we’re able to clarify and correct.”

But changing minds is not easy. 

In suburban Manila, supporters hand out pink flyers and face masks to residents and street vendors, striking up conversations to explain Robredo’s platform. 

Some people wave them away while others listen to their spiel. Occasionally, they are heckled or harassed. 

“Someone asked us to kiss them first before they will listen. It’s very offensive,” complained Marielle Chico, 26.

After speaking to a Robredo volunteer, rice and egg vendor George Tolentino said he was still undecided. 

“I will study first their agenda,” the 55-year-old said. 

As election day looms, volunteers like Mendoza are determined to continue campaigning. 

“It all comes down to May 9,” she said defiantly.

“We won’t stop.” 

Thousands of Latino refugees arrive in the Mexican city of Tijuana each year, dreaming of one day crossing the border that separates them from the United States. 

But as Ukrainians who fled Russia’s invasion have recently begun to cross the same frontier with little delay, many Latinos stuck waiting for months are wondering why they are not being treated the same.

“Why are we — neighbors of the United States — not given the same opportunity to seek asylum? We came here fleeing almost the same thing,” said L., a 44-year-old Mexican man.

Because of the war raging in their homeland, Ukrainians have been granted special humanitarian permission to enter the United States. Washington said last month it would take in up to 100,000 refugees.

Thousands of Ukrainians have since flown to Tijuana to cross the land border to the United States — easier than getting the visa required to fly direct.

Volunteers in Tijuana and the neighboring US town of San Ysidro say that, on average, new Ukrainian arrivals wait just two or three days before crossing, using an entrance available only to them.

“I think we all deserve a chance,” L.’s wife said, with tears welling up in her eyes.

The couple fled their central Mexican hometown of Irapuato with their three children, carrying only a change of clothes, after suspected cartel members torched their home and the bakery where they made their living. 

Staring down at the floor and nervously clutching a piece of paper in her trembling hands, the woman spoke to AFP hesitantly, declining to give her name for fear of something happening to her or her family.

“We came here not by choice but out of necessity — we have endured a lot of violence,” she said.

“We want to give them a better life,” she added, pointing to her children, who are living in one of several tents at the Movimiento Juventud 2000 shelter.

The family are just three blocks from Unidad Deportiva Benito Juarez, which has become the staging post for thousands of Ukrainians.

“Why don’t they give us a chance?” she asked.

– ‘Almost a war’ –

The contrast between the two shelters could hardly be more stark.

At Movimiento Juventud 2000, the atmosphere is heavy with frustration and sadness, while at Benito Juarez, relief and hope abound.

Volunteers at the Ukrainian shelter have created a database to keep up with the rapid turnover of asylum seekers.

By Saturday afternoon, more than 2,600 Ukrainians had registered. 

At Movimiento Juventud 2000, some families have been waiting as long as six months for a change in border restrictions that would allow them to apply for asylum.

R., who also did not want to give her full name, is from Honduras, and has five children aged between one and nine. She said they were forced to leave their city eight years ago when her journalist husband was attacked.

They fled to Guatemala, where her husband received medical treatment. But they realized they could not remain when one of the doctors who treated him was murdered.

Another attempt to rebuild their lives in Mexico was scuppered when a flood destroyed their new home, and so the family headed to the US border, encouraged by the election of Democratic President Joe Biden.

“We have been applying for asylum since we lived in Guatemala, but a long time has passed and we are still waiting,” she said, sitting on a plastic bucket next to the tent in which the whole family has slept for months.

The youngest of her babies learnt to walk between tents.

Like the Ukrainians, “we also came fleeing,” she said.

“It’s different, but it’s almost a war with the gangs… we can’t go back.”

– ‘Suffered’ –

Thanks to donations from both sides of the border, Ukrainian volunteers installed a children’s play area at their shelter.

Toys, crayons and books are available, with a new crate of plastic yellow ducks arriving Saturday.

Nearby, young Haitian, Mexican and Central American children do not have any dedicated space and few materials, although they are entertained a couple of times each week by UNICEF workers and individual volunteers.

Teacher Nelly Cantu, who is part of that effort, says she was approached about helping at the Ukrainian shelter, but decided to stay put.

“Besides the language barrier, I preferred to stay here because the children need me. They have suffered a lot, and have less support. This is also a war,” she said.

Some 125 people, mainly from Haiti and Central America, live in the shelter staffed by six people, said its director Jose Maria Garcia.

“We try to explain to them that they have to be patient,” Garcia said.

It’s just a small box to tick on an application form, but a huge breakthrough for D. Ojeda, a non-binary person who on Monday became one of the first Americans to apply for a gender-neutral passport.

“Even with my family, they still don’t get it,” said Ojeda, a 34-year-old activist who goes by D. and uses the pronouns “they, them.” “So at least I have the government to say who I am as a person.”

The option to receive a passport with an “X” gender designation, which was made available Monday by US President Joe Biden’s administration, was hailed as a blessing for an estimated 1.2 million Americans whose gender identity falls outside the categories of man or woman.

It came at a time when Republican lawmakers across the country have been passing legislation that critics say curtails LGBTQ rights and was likely to further fuel tensions around gender issues in a deeply divided nation.

At their home in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Ojeda began to fill out the long online passport application form, putting down their first and last name, then choosing from three options for gender: M for male, F for female and X for people who don’t identify as either. They chose the latter.

They also ticked the box for “gender change,” to reflect the difference from their previous passport, which identified them as female. They didn’t have to provide any medical documentation for the change.

“I think that’s incredible,” said Ojeda, who works as an organizer at the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and holds a doctorate degree in psychology. 

“What makes it difficult for trans people is just how hard it is to get anything changed,” such as legal documentation, said Ojeda.

When Ojeda and their NCTE colleagues learned of the new passport option, they “started crying at each other,” Ojeda added, seated at their desk in a blue sweater, with a thin beard and with their hair pulled back.

– See me as ‘who I am’ –

The State Department announced in October that it had issued the first American passport with the X designation for gender after a long legal battle waged by a person from Colorado who is intersex.

But it was only on March 31, the International Day of Transgender Visibility, that the State Department announced it was extending that right to all Americans, as well as adopting other measures on the federal level meant to simplify administrative hurdles for transgender and non-binary people.

A few other countries have similar policies. Australia began issuing X-gender passports in 2011, with New Zealand, Canada, Germany and Argentina joining the roster since then, as well as, Pakistan and Nepal.

Ojeda already boasts a driver’s license from their home state of Virginia, where their gender is marked as X. Ojeda said the procedure was simple: they received an appointment, filled out the application and the X box was already there.

“I was really happy about that because it was the first time I see myself and I in an identification form,” Ojeda said. 

Things, however, get more complicated with travel. Ojeda says they are often called “Ma’am,” which is upsetting.

Born in Peru, Ojeda cannot wait to visit their relatives there, now that they have a new passport, which is required for international travel.

Though they are still struggling to get their family to accept them.

“You know, they don’t say the name that I want,” said Ojeda, who was given a different first name at birth.

“When I pretended to be a woman, and I tried really hard, there was something that always bothered me,” said Ojeda.

Now, they added, “I can turn around and say, ‘well in my ID the government sees me as who I am, and maybe you need to start seeing me as who I am.'”

“It feels like the world is safer.”