China’s zero-Covid policy causes widespread hardships, as Shanghai’s lockdown shows. So why keep it?

Bullhorning Shanghai residents.
Click for article by Wang Xiangwei

Interesting that there’s some pretty direct criticism in the article. And it’s in the South China Morning Post and the author lives in Beijing. Where I’ve told you can be critical of anything and anyone except “The X-factor”, aka Xi Jinping. Which Wang does. Brave man, Wang. Brave article, SCMP. 

ADDED: By “anything” I mean you can say anything on social media, but you can’t be sure it won’t be removed by the censored. Like now, criticism of Shanghai’s lockdown is a no-no. You can only say nice things. Exception ps linked below, on Weibo.

Note: 87 of China’s top 100 cities are in some form of lock down.

There’s heaps of stuff online about the horrors of Shanghai lockdown. Globally, but also on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, like Resident complaints , horrid quarantine  and Public furyat officials killing pets. A dire situation. Quarantine facilities are horrible. Food is short. People are fed up. Confirmed by mates we have still living in Shanghai. (I lived in Shanghai for two years in the early 90s.I loved the place then. Looks grim now).

Let’s recall: in Shanghai not a single death from Covid. (ADDED: correction, there’s ONE death reported today).  For which they’ve locked down 25 million people. Not counting those 82 other top-100 cities.

Crazy, no? Only explicable when you consider it’s a Xi Jinping thing. He has to show the “superiority of Socialism with Chinese characteristics”. IOW it’s Xi saving face. That’s why they can’t back down and come to a more realistic policy. The only hope is that it fail. Otherwise endless lockdowns. As each sub variant of omicron, now up to BA2.2.6. Each more transmissible than the last.