Shanghai is an amazing city. Because it was once an international city, it has always been a bit more cosmopolitan than some other Chinese cities. It’s known for being a financial hub and its food. When I was there, I recall fondly what great sheng jian bao (like a fried soup dumpling) they had at Yang’s Fried Dumpling. It’s one of the area’s great contributions to food.
Why do I talk about what great food they have?
Because of the Chinese government, that city that can be such a delight has now become a hell hole for its people, with the implementation of zero-COVID lockdowns in response to an Omicron outbreak. People are desperate for food, medicine, and medical care. Riots are even breaking out — a huge thing that shows you just how desperate people are; rioters can face severe punishment in repressive China.
People aren’t getting the food that was supposed to be distributed by the government; supermarkets are shut down. People stormed the community gate in one complex, demanding action, and police responded.
One Shanghai resident is so desperate, that he blasts the Communist government and tells them to come and get him — because he can’t take it anymore.
Some children are being separated from their parents if they or the parents get sick, and people are understandably furious over that.
In the images, a series of hospital cribs, each holding several young children, appeared to be parked in the hallway of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center in the city’s Jinshan district. A video showed several of the children crying.
The images and video could not be independently verified, but in a statement, the health center said they were real and did not deny that parents with Covid were being separated from their children.
Some people died at the Donghai elderly care center, after the staff was removed by the government because some came down with COVID.
They brought in temporary help who didn’t have medical training.
Jared Nelson, a lawyer operating in China, is there and has a detailed thread about the lockdown and what they are going through; it’s worth a read, as he notes no one is allowed out.
What adds to the insanity of this all is this is in response to Omicron, one of the mildest variants. We made it through, even with Joe Biden claiming it would be a “winter of severe illness and death.” Who knows how many people are dying because of the lockdown and the response, and not the virus? We will never get an honest count. The suffering here is immeasurable, far more than what Omicron would have elicited.
But this is what happens when you treat your citizens like slaves