CASTELMEZZANO Basilicata is facing a bona fide demographic crisis. The small region, located between the boot and heel of southern Italy, is home to roughly 570,000 people. But due to a low birthrate and high rates of unemployment and emigration, it loses approximately 3,000 inhabitants every year.
The protests against “zero Covid” were a rare rebuke of Xi Jinping’s rule, and Beijing apparently seeks to deter those who might have been emboldened by them.