"We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness" --- 1984
Three years have passed, and facts are no longer important. What people believe becomes the truth, and the power of the media surpasses that of science and common sense. Even the Soviet joke about a blank piece of paper has happened right here...
Lockdowns and human rights
At the beginning of this year, I was put under centralized quarantine. Although it was only for a short 3 days and 4 nights, it made me truly experience the feeling of losing freedom. There was no air conditioning, and the balcony was sealed off. At night, the searchlights would occasionally shine on the curtains (like tears on iron bars?). It was to the point that the day before I was supposed to leave, when the community called to inform me that I could go home the next day, I experienced a very typical Stockholm syndrome.
So, what is the reason for the continuous lockdowns? Is it to achieve zero cases? It's just a number. I believe it is all caused by a system similar to a company's Key Performance Indicator (KPI) system, which is ultimately driven by interests.
This recent decentralization of power has finally given a voice to the most transparent group in China - the neighborhood committees. In the past few decades, this group has been seen as unnecessary, and sometimes even annoying (with various home visits, etc.). But now, things are different. They have more power, they have a say, and they can control a person's freedom with a single decision, using various reasons to keep you under control until you submit. They must have suddenly felt the feeling of the Chinese people standing up, which has led to various disasters happening all over the country. The people's power is constantly being violated, and the bottom line keeps moving backward.
However, all of this is caused by the system. It is well known that China does not have media. China's media has no editorial rights and is completely regulated by the Propaganda Department. Everything that is shown is what the government wants people to see. After the decentralization of power, grassroots personnel, in order to achieve their KPIs (i.e., zero cases), can do whatever it takes. The higher-ups are also not concerned about the process, only the assessment results. Power is responsible to power, not to the people or what is right. The higher-ups have set the core KPI of achieving zero cases, but have not provided any direction, allowing local governments to come up with various ways to meet the targets. With the cooperation of the media in creating information asymmetry, they can easily appease the local people and make them accept inhumane measures.
Vaccines and nucleic acid tests
On December 3rd, 4th, and 5th, many places in the country announced that they would no longer require nucleic acid tests and impose lockdowns. On December 7th, the "New Ten Measures" were released, which was a sudden brake, completely changing direction, and returning to life in 2020. Opening up is inevitable, but the timing seems rushed and chaotic (mainly for financial reasons). Vaccines have not been widely distributed, mRNA has not been introduced, and makeshift hospitals have been built, but the people who need protection have not been protected, and the medical level has not improved. Even after being brainwashed by the media, a large wave of people started hoarding Lianhua Qingwen and became afraid of Covid.
First of all, Omicron does not infect the lungs, only the upper respiratory tract, and the general symptoms are only fever, headache, and cough. In the one or two months after the reopening, there may be a small wave of medical overcrowding, which will test the effectiveness of domestic vaccines. So when can mRNA be introduced? When can Chinese people get vaccinated with Comirnaty?
Economy
On December 9th, the Ministry of Finance issued 750 billion yuan in special government bonds, but this time the bonds are only available to banks, and ordinary people cannot buy them. Before this, China had issued special government bonds three times, in 1998 (270 billion yuan), 2007 (1.528 trillion yuan), and 2020 (1 trillion yuan) for the fight against the pandemic. I wonder why they didn't borrow more this time? They could have also shut down the nucleic acid testing companies while they were at it.
Duolingo, Airbnb, Samsung have all withdrawn from the mainland, and even Apple is accelerating its move out of China...
The future
In terms of the pandemic, there will definitely be a peak in the next one or two months, so personal protection should be taken seriously. However, what is most worrying is whether the enthusiasts for epidemic prevention and lockdowns will start criticizing the policy of reopening, sacrificing the students who held up blank papers at that time (and claiming it was the work of foreign forces). Hopefully, such a thing will not happen, as the truly brave ones are those students in this environment.
In terms of the economy, there may be a labor shortage in the middle of next year. Stabilizing the real estate market and stimulating the private economy may lead to some loosening of policies, following the old path of the United States, and causing an increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). However, it will be difficult for consumer spending power to recover, no matter how much stimulus is provided, as direct cash handouts are not the solution.
"To say that a person must support their own country's government is not patriotism, but a form of slavery. True patriotism sometimes requires standing up against the evil that comes from one's own country, because that is how one can help make their own country better." - Vitalik
December 20th Update:
It has been 15 days since the reopening, and the number of infected people around me has noticeably increased. These past few days, I have been eating and playing basketball with people who have tested positive, but so far, I haven't shown any obvious symptoms (just a cough that has lasted for 3 weeks). I have one person's worth of medicine, but I can't buy a thermometer. The medicine was sent by my family. During this time, I have also seen some people starting to miss the days when they had to do nucleic acid tests every day. It's really absurd.
However, not being able to buy medicine is on par with not being able to buy groceries. It's the same routine - always start with debunking rumors, then release information, and finally, there is a shortage of supplies/medical resources. Why do these people never make preparations beforehand? When there was a lockdown, we couldn't buy groceries, and now that things are opening up, we can't buy medicine. Why do they keep failing their own assignments?
With this kind of incompetent leadership, what can they possibly achieve? They are just sucking people's blood.
"Being able to attack the heart will lead to self-destruction. Throughout history, it is known that war is not a good thing. Not examining the situation will lead to mistakes in both leniency and severity. Those who govern Sichuan in the future should think deeply about this."