Allow myself to quote myself from an April 2022 post: “What a f***ing mess! I have no idea how or why this globally connected ‘superpower’ believes it can isolate itself from a highly contagious respiratory disease that repeatedly boomerangs around the world. How many lockdown cycles can China endure if it has no intention to immunize its population — naturally or medically? How many years can this go on? COVID is here to stay forever.”
And now, from The New York Times, “In an iPhone factory in central China, thousands of workers clashed with riot police and tore down barricades. In the southern city of Guangzhou, protesters broke out of locked-down buildings to confront health workers and ransack food provisions. In some ways, China’s struggles are of Mr. Xi’s own making. China has clung to harsh ‘zero-Covid’ policies aimed at eradicating Covid infections, even as its vaccination efforts have lagged. For three years, Beijing pumped out propaganda in support of tough controls, arguing they were the only way to protect lives. It also described the terrifying consequences of the uncontrolled spread of the virus in much of the rest of the world. … In the locked-down district of Haizhu, home to roughly 1.8 million people, the workers, many of whom toil for long hours and low pay in Guangzhou’s textile industry, rushed into the street to protest food shortages. They tore down fences and barricades, and videos circulating online showed another confrontation between residents and police.”
Looks like the Chinese are getting fed up. Who could have predicted the efficacy of a zero-COVID policy? Who could have foreseen such a worthless approach to a highly contagious disease? Who? Answer: Me! Too bad the Chinese live under an authoritarian regime. They’ll have to learn to live with the misery and incompetence of the government they desire and deserve. I found this especially gratifying from The Times, “At the same time, many others have questioned the need for lockdowns at all. This week, as millions of Chinese tuned in to watch the World Cup in Qatar, they saw unmasked crowds rooting for their favorite teams. Chinese social media users posted messages expressing sarcasm and envy, as they contrasted their cloistered lives with the raucous celebrations on TV.” Oh, well. Suck to be Chinese!
Perhaps the most significant benefit for the rest of the world of China’s ridiculous zero-COVID policy, in the long run, is the realization that other countries cannot (should never have been allowed to) rely on China as the global “manufacturing floor.” Not sure how and why world economies — America in particular — would permit themselves to be held hostage by a dictatorship government all in the name of profits. Whatever!