Beijing The scenes are reminiscent of the beginnings of the corona pandemic in China. The chaotic conditions in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the virus broke out two years ago.
But this time it is not just any city in central China that is being hit by a virus that was still unknown at the time. It’s Shanghai, China’s dazzling and wealthy economic metropolis, that is spouting new horror stories every day while the rest of the world is getting back to normal.
Since the start of the strict curfew for the 25 million residents of Shanghai at the end of March, not a day has gone by without new horror news about how the authorities and the government are treating their citizens. People locked in their homes are desperately trying to order groceries online – often without success.
Children suffering from Covid are housed separately from their parents in central hospitals – even the smallest ones. A video from such a facility, in which several small children and babies are left to their own devices in cots, has caused outrage in the past few days.
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Video recordings show huge mass accommodations where infected people with mild symptoms are to be brought. There are no showers or privacy, the beds are tightly packed.
Only on Wednesday did a video on Chinese social networks cause nationwide outrage. It shows health workers hitting a small dog with a pole on the street – the animal ends up lying bleeding and motionless next to the sidewalk.
The owner, it was said, had to be in quarantine and was not allowed to take the dog with her. It is not the first case of this kind. Other videos of brutal and agonizing killings of pets in the name of Covid prevention have also been making the rounds in recent days.
Shanghai citizens engage in creative protest
Chinese citizens are creatively fighting back in a country where freedom of the press and freedom of expression are repressed by the ruling Communist Party. A Shanghai resident left his empty fridge open for all to see on his balcony to draw attention to the food shortage.
In a block of flats where residents had been asked by their neighborhood committee to sing patriotic songs, they spontaneously sang revolutionary songs as a sign of protest.
Others protest more directly. In the Chinese social network Weibo, people desperately looking for help post the stories of themselves and their loved ones – including phone number and address. “No food has been delivered for several days,” writes a person affected in Changchun, which has also been under a strict curfew since March 20. “We’ll soon be without food.”
Workers in protective suits distribute food rations to residents of the metropolis who are no longer allowed to leave their homes.
(Photo: AP)
Others write about their relatives stating that they are not receiving urgently needed medication because the suppliers are not allowed to drive into the residential complex. The situation is “catastrophic,” people from Shanghai report on social networks.
In addition, the severe restrictions, some of which are nationwide, are also having an impact on the economy. Factories stand still, transports are stuck. Apparently, important agricultural regions are no longer getting enough fertilizer, and farmers cannot till their fields because they are not allowed to leave their homes.
“Control Your Soul’s Desire for Freedom”
But despite the criticism, which is severe by Chinese standards and which apparently cannot be completely erased even by the close-knit censorship, neither the central government nor the city administration are responding to it. Instead: perseverance slogans.
Videos are circulating on the internet showing citizens being enraged by drones being succinctly told: “Control your soul’s desire for freedom!”
During a visit to Shanghai, China’s Vice Premier Sun Chunlan reiterated the government’s draconian zero-Covid strategy. She warned that the “basic living conditions of the people” and “normal medical care” should be ensured. The measures to combat the epidemic in the communities should be further strengthened, she demanded.
The Covid crisis becomes a problem for Xi Jinping
For head of state and party leader Xi Jinping, the Covid crisis comes at an inopportune time. The big party congress is coming up in autumn. At the most important political event in years, head of state and party leader Xi wants to have his third term confirmed.
The Chinese leadership has so far presented its handling of the Covid pandemic as a great success – and as proof of the superiority of the Chinese system. Xi’s name is closely linked to the draconian containment strategy.
And the ongoing crisis in Shanghai could also have consequences for another man: Li Qiang, head of the Communist Party in the economic metropolis.
The politician is considered a confidant of state and party leader Xi Jinping.
(Photo: IMAGINECHINA LIMITED)
Li Qiang is being tipped to succeed Prime Minister Li Keqiang, who is stepping down next year, alongside Vice Premier Hu Chunhua and Wang Yang, who is on the powerful Politburo Standing Committee.
Li Qiang is considered a confidante of Xi Jinping and has been Shanghai party secretary since 2017. Previously, he was governor of eastern Zhejiang Province and party secretary of Jiangsu Province. So far he has had good chances of getting the job – but depending on how the crisis ends, that could change.
More: “It’s a shock” – European companies complain about the consequences of China’s lockdowns