{"id":1459882,"date":"2022-05-02T08:00:54","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T12:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1459882"},"modified":"2022-05-02T08:01:01","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T12:01:01","slug":"chinas-inhumane-covid-lockdowns-became-a-wake-up-call-for-some-chinese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chinas-inhumane-covid-lockdowns-became-a-wake-up-call-for-some-chinese\/","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s Inhumane Covid Lockdowns Became A Wake-up Call For Some Chinese"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchinas-inhumane-covid-lockdowns-became-a-wake-up-call-for-some-chinese%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1459882&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/china2-e1651349079833.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Reportedly responding to more infectious Covid-19 variants, the Chinese government has recently put\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/beijing-sticks-to-covid-19-blitz-as-chinas-cases-drop-to-three-week-low-11650982545?mod=world_major_1_pos1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">46 cities and 343 million residents<\/a>\u00a0under strict lockdowns. The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/in-shanghai-strict-covid-rules-separate-children-from-parents-11648961849?mod=series_shanghaicovid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruthlessly enforced lockdown policies<\/a>, empty shelves in grocery stores, and widespread food shortages have become a wake-up call for many.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After the Chinese Communist Party brutally cracked down on the pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square in 1989, it offered the Chinese people an unwritten grand bargain: exchanging their political freedom for economic growth. The last four decades of economic reforms have lifted China\u2019s living standards. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany Chinese believe that the country\u2019s recent economic achievements\u2014large-scale poverty reduction, huge infrastructure investment, and development as a world-class tech innovator\u2014have come about because of, not despite, China\u2019s authoritarian form of government,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2021\/05\/what-the-west-gets-wrong-about-china\">observe<\/a> Rana Mitter and Elsbeth Johnson in Harvard Business Review. The party\u2019s censorship, tight control of all aspects of Chinese society, and the rising nationalist movement have left little room for dissenting from this view.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The CCP\u2019s genocide in Xinjiang against the Uyghur Muslims and other minorities and the party\u2019s crackdown on Hong Kong\u2019s pro-democracy movement were stories that either received no coverage or distorted coverage in mainland China. Many mainlanders chose to believe the Chinese government\u2019s rhetoric that these stories were manufactured by hostile Western forces who sought to destabilize China and stop the nation\u2019s inevitable return to its rightful place as a dominant power in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The majority of Chinese supported Beijing\u2019s \u201cZero Covid\u201d policy between 2020 and 2021, which relied on mandatory vaccination, testing, quarantines, and border control to isolate the entire nation from the rest of the world for more than two years. They point to China\u2019s low Covid case numbers and deaths (many outside of China found those numbers highly questionable), in contrast to high case numbers and fatalities in the West, as evidence that China\u2019s political system is superior to Western democracy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Some in the West agreed. Early last year, New York Times China correspondent Li Yuan gleefully\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LiYuan6\/status\/1346255681255403520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1346255681255403520%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&#038;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fmedia%2Fnew-york-times-shilling-communist-china-freedoms-coronav\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tweeted<\/a>\u00a0her piece, \u201cIn a Topsy-Turvy Pandemic World, China Offers Its Version of Freedom.\u201d She claimed that \u201cthe pandemic has upended many perceptions, including ideas about freedom. Chinese don\u2019t have freedom of speech, freedom of worship, or freedom from fear, but they have the freedom to move around and lead a normal day-to-day life,\u201d thanks to the Chinese government\u2019s aggressive response to the pandemic.<\/p>\n<h2>Cruelty in Shanghai<\/h2>\n<p>But the Chinese people and overseas cheerleaders of the CCP regime had a rude awakening this year thanks to the lockdown in Shanghai, a city of 26 million people known for their wealth and sophistication. The Chinese government has chosen to enforce its \u201cZero Covid\u201d policy with a degree of cruelty and zealousness the Chinese people haven\u2019t experienced since the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, residents have been locked inside their apartments like animals,\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/panic-buying-triggered-shanghai-residents-230721014.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">some even have metal barriers and fences outside their homes<\/a>. One foreigner in Shanghai\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-61209761\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a>\u00a0the BBC, \u201cNo one can get out, and I feel helpless.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2022\/apr\/08\/desperation-amid-food-shortages-in-shanghai-as-covid-lockdown-bites\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">widespread hunger<\/a>\u00a0because people are not allowed to go grocery shopping and the government-run food delivery has been meager. Guards in white protective gear\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fangshimin\/status\/1516593246348058624\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">beat<\/a>\u00a0residents who attempted to sneak out to buy some food or even tried to dig up herbs in the yard. <\/p>\n<p>People with chronic illnesses or medical emergencies\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-03-30\/desperation-hits-shanghai-s-chronically-ill-as-infections-soar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">couldn\u2019t get timely treatment<\/a>. After a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/shanghai-residents-seek-help-online-as-daily-covid-count-nears-20-000-11649296811?mod=series_shanghaicovid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">video<\/a>\u00a0showing a community worker in a white hazmat suit beating a corgi to death, pet owners have additional concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Chinese social media is full of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/shanghai-residents-seek-help-online-as-daily-covid-count-nears-20-000-11649296811?mod=series_shanghaicovid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">posts<\/a>\u00a0of desperate Shanghai residents pleading for food, medical help, or someone to take care of their pets. Adults have been taken from their homes and forced to spend weeks in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/shanghai-womans-16-hour-bus-ride-into-quarantine-my-only-wish-is-to-leave-this-place-alive-11649131637?mod=series_shanghaicovid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">poorly run mass quarantine camps<\/a>, and young children have been cruelly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/in-shanghai-strict-covid-rules-separate-children-from-parents-11648961849?mod=series_shanghaicovid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">separated<\/a>\u00a0from their parents.<\/p>\n<h2>Losing Faith in Chinese Government<\/h2>\n<p>Some of the Communist regime\u2019s overseas cheerleaders have changed their minds following the brutal Shanghai lockdowns. Yuan of The New York Times, who lectured Americans that the Chinese version of freedom is more preferable than the freedom in the United States, recently wrote, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/04\/13\/business\/china-covid-zero-shanghai.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">China\u2019s \u2018Zero Covid\u2019 Mess Proves Autocracy Hurts Everyone<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More importantly,\u00a0what happened in Shanghai\u00a0has evoked the older generation\u2019s memories of the horrors of the Cultural Revolution, and shattered younger generations\u2019 confidence in the government. More and more Chinese people have shown they\u2019re losing faith in the Chinese government\u2019s policies and narratives.<\/p>\n<p>Some chose to speak out. Zhong Hongjun, a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-04-25\/shanghai-pens-in-residents-in-renewed-effort-to-stamp-out-covid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>\u00a0the government\u2019s actions are so \u201cinhumane\u201d that he regretted supporting the \u201cZero Covid\u201d policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Repression Sparks Protests<\/h2>\n<p>Some chose to protest. In one residential compound, residents\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/shanghai-videos-residents-clash-police-china-covid-protest-rcna24520\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">clashed<\/a>\u00a0with health authorities and police in a desperate attempt to block the government from turning their housing complex into quarantine camps for Covid patients. Police arrested several protesters.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Since speaking out and protesting in broad daylight are dangerous in an authoritarian regime, others chose more discrete ways to express their anger and frustration. A six-minute video titled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=llP2qTXJFBc&#038;list=PPSV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Voice of April<\/a>\u201d went viral in China on April 22. It included voices of Shanghai residents complaining about food shortages and lacking medical care and revealing the human toll of the government\u2019s Covid policies. <\/p>\n<p>The video had millions of views, and Chinese netizens tried many creative ways to preserve and share it before the censors took it down, including saving copies on blockchains. Zeyi Yang, a writer for Technology Reviews, calls the Chinese netizens\u2019 actions an example of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/2022\/04\/24\/1051073\/wechat-shanghai-lockdown-protest-video-the-voice-of-april\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">digital protesting<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Drastically Eroding Trust in Government<\/h2>\n<p>There are other signs that more Chinese people are losing faith in the Chinese government after witnessing what has happened in Shanghai. China\u2019s capital city Beijing is facing a Covid-19 outbreak. Worrying that Beijing would undergo a Shanghai-style lockdown, Beijing residents\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/shanghai-was-lesson-beijing-residents-hit-stores-amid-covid-lockdown-fears-2022-04-25\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stocked up on food and wiped grocery stores clean<\/a>, despite government officials\u2019 repeated announcements of no food shortages.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There are indications the lockdowns will result in an exodus of people and capital. An online survey\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/panic-buying-triggered-shanghai-residents-230721014.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">revealed<\/a>\u00a0that about 85 percent of Shanghai\u2019s expat residents were considering leaving China due to its lockdown policies. Shanghai-based immigration consultants reported that immigration inquiries from wealthy Shanghai residents have\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/techilive.in\/voting-with-their-feet-chinas-wealthy-look-to-leave-after-shanghai-lockdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">skyrocketed<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>One consultant received more than 200 immigration inquiries in one day. He\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/techilive.in\/voting-with-their-feet-chinas-wealthy-look-to-leave-after-shanghai-lockdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explained<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cThe authorities are making people sacrifice their basic needs to fight a disease that\u2019s a bit more severe than seasonal flu. Our clients chose to vote with their feet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since the Chinese government has put <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/beijing-sticks-to-covid-19-blitz-as-chinas-cases-drop-to-three-week-low-11650982545?mod=world_major_1_pos1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hundreds of millions of residents<\/a>\u00a0under\u00a0lockdown, Shanghai residents\u2019 torment has been repeated in many other parts of China, so many share Shanghai residents\u2019 anger and frustration. Not surprisingly, more Chinese people have woken up from the government\u2019s lies and cruelty. Beijing\u2019s insistence on harsh \u201czero Covid\u201d measures may become the regime\u2019s undoing, as more and more Chinese have finally learned that their health, safety, and prosperity are not secure without political freedom.\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">\n  Helen Raleigh, CFA, is an American entrepreneur, writer, and speaker. She&#8217;s a senior contributor at The Federalist. Her writings appear in other national media, including The Wall Street Journal and Fox News.  Helen is the author of several books, including &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Confucius-Never-Said-Helen-Raleigh\/dp\/1499185278\/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&#038;keywords=Helen+Raleigh+Confucius+Never+Said&#038;qid=1606079469&#038;sr=8-1\">Confucius Never Said<\/a>&#8221; and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Backlash-How-Chinas-Aggression-Backfired\/dp\/1736008501\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&#038;qid=1606006113&#038;sr=8-1\">Backlash: How Communist China&#8217;s Aggression Has Backfired<\/a>.&#8221; Follow her on Parler and Twitter: @HRaleighspeaks.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reportedly responding to more infectious Covid-19 variants, the Chinese government has recently put\u00a046 cities and 343 million residents\u00a0under strict lockdowns. The\u00a0ruthlessly enforced lockdown policies, empty shelves in grocery stores, and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":536,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1459882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1459882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1459882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1459882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1459882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1459882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1459882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}