The Chinese government’s harsh COVID-19 pandemic policies are driving the country’s citizens to a “breaking point”, experts say.
In a rare display of civil disobedience captured in videos that have gone viral on social media, residents of Shanghai can be seen screaming and flashing lights from their apartments.
They were protesting against the government’s COVID-19 policies that are still aiming to eliminate the virus as opposed to living with it – a model that’s being followed by an increasing number of countries around the world.
In other videos also posted on social media, airborne drones can be seen and heard, issuing warnings to the citizens to follow the rules.
“Control your desire for freedom,” was one of the announcements broadcast by a drone.
Linda Jaivin – author of several books on China, including The Shortest History of China – said this is a rare sight in the country.
“It’s absolutely extraordinary and it gave me the chills … People are obviously very unhappy with not just the lockdown as such, but with the way it’s been managed,” Ms Jaivin told SBS News.
Shanghai, which reported more than 26,000 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, was plunged into a sudden lockdown on 5 April, restricting the ability of 25 million people to move freely.
“It’s been managed so badly that people have been running out of food and water. Some people have had to sleep in their offices,” Ms Jaivin said.
“Some elderly people have been left without care and have been dying. There’s just so much frustration and anger,” she said.
Jennifer Hsu – research fellow at Lowy Institute – said people in Shanghai “are reaching their breaking point” but it’s highly unlikely the government will change its zero-COVID-19 policy any time soon.
The 20th National Congress of the ruling Chinese Communist Party will be held in Beijing in the second half of 2022.
“[The conference] takes place every five years. [This year] it’s going to be in October or November and Xi Jinping is expected to announce his third term,” Professor Hsu told SBS News.
And until that political event is over, Professor Hsu said the Chinese Communist Party is highly unlikely to deviate from its zero-COVID-19 plan.
“It’s a highly symbolic and political event in China and the need to maintain social stability until at least the end of the year [is paramount].
“So the whole of China and all its institutional structures and the health system will be geared towards maintaining that stability,” she said.
The city’s police department warned on Wednesday that anyone who violates strict COVID-19 lockdown rules will be dealt with strictly.
“Those who violate the provisions of this notice will be dealt with in strict accordance with the law by public security organs ... If it constitutes a crime, they will be investigated according to law,” the department said in a statement.
Ms Jaivin said the likelihood of these protests snowballing into an uprising is quite low.
“The policing and surveillance in China is very intense. Very soon after that screaming, I have seen another video in which a drone is flying around telling everybody to stop and is kind of drowning everything else.
“There are not very many ways that people can band together to take action in China without being stopped very quickly,” she said.
