Strict confinement starving Shanghai

Traffic bans, welded building doors, screams of hunger, the situation in Shanghai is worse. Pollution from new species of COVID-19 now affects about a third of Chinese cities.

The population blames the municipal authorities for the problems that arise as a result of the very harsh detention measures imposed on them. In fact, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his team are responsible for the population hardship. Dissatisfaction can challenge Xi’s authority.

1. Why is the government imposing such drastic lockdown measures?

No one understood why the detention was so harsh. Sure, Chinese vaccines are less effective than other vaccines, but the Omicron variant also contains less virus. Three factors can explain the severity of the detention. First, the central government developed the Containment model in Wuhan, which hopes to apply the same everywhere. Then again, this restriction is also an exercise in population control, and closing Shanghai would be a dress rehearsal for this outrageous exercise. Finally, Shanghai Xi is a bastion for rivals. By an interesting coincidence, Xi sent several central government personnel to “assist” in managing the city.

2. Are other options possible?

The government may have ordered routine vaccinations with Western vaccines. But it is accepting the shortcomings of Chinese vaccines and the possibility of losing face. Like most Western countries the contingency model also accepts failure. The Chinese government has truly boasted that the first waves of the pandemic were better than the Western ones, which in its view should prove the dominance of the Chinese political model.

3. What happens in the field?

Many are failing to supply food. Drones must ensure delivery to people whose building doors are closed, but neighbors must often manage themselves to receive bulk deliveries. Deliveries, which limit themselves, are very rare. The elderly, unfamiliar with new technologies and left without medication, suffered greatly in detention. The millions of illegal immigrants who came to Shanghai to work must feel very sorry. They often run small businesses and can no longer make money. Since they are not official residents of the city, it is difficult for them to get help. The government is looking to alleviate the shortage of food. But in terms of corruption only a fraction of the aid is being distributed. Despite the denials of the authorities, the height of cruelty, sick children are still separated from their parents.

4. What is the impact of lockdowns on the economy?

Shanghai is the nation’s major economic engine. Already many production chains in China have been cut due to the lockdown. This exacerbates the global shortage of many products, especially in electronics.

5. What is the effect on Xi?

More and more internal critics of the Chinese Communist Party are coming out in public, a sign of strong dissatisfaction. At the moment, no one is capable of confronting Xi Jinping. But mismanaging the epidemic adds an already huge record in his management. If the epidemic spreads to the whole of China, his leadership will be crossed.