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.
The situation in Shanghai is scary. Reports of millions struggling to feed themselves, elderly unable to access medicine, videos of small riots breaking out circulating on social media. Many households relying on inadequate govt food deliveries. pic.twitter.com/bW1ixaTu7O
— Michael Smith (@MikeSmithAFR) April 8, 2022
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.
康亭小区位于上海市松江区九亭镇，据说社区和志愿者拂手而去，无人发放食物，而商场超市完全停运，居民不满缺少食物，在几个小时前集体抗议政府不作为，冲击小区大门，现场大批警察镇压。 pic.twitter.com/HVFAQt96SQ
— 鲁 难 (@lunanweiyi) April 8, 2022
NEW – Shanghai's inhuman "zero-COVID" lockdown leaves residents desperate for food and medicines.
Authorities now say they will ease restrictions after another mass test in China's most populous city.pic.twitter.com/3VlV970kUo
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) April 9, 2022
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.
China 🇨🇳
A Shanghai resident takes to the streets to protest against the barbaric authoritarianism of lockdown. pic.twitter.com/HEXh3Rj3sH
— James Melville (@JamesMelville) April 9, 2022
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.
Ten nurses take care of 200 children who were separated from their parents in the epidemic in Shanghai, China. #TheGreatTranslationMovement pic.twitter.com/qYqtqsiNq6
— Jerry🐦 (@Jerry4Ji) April 5, 2022
#shanghai as authorities separate kids from children, this man keeps her daughter close to him, not respecting social distanciation (anyway they live together …) . Absurd volunteers in charge … pic.twitter.com/icBvdFheCv
— Le kebabier (@Lekebabier_) April 9, 2022
It's fair to say that all sense has gone out the window in #China
You cannot treat #Children like this.#lockdown #Shanghai #Quarantine pic.twitter.com/UC6PCOdkh3
— Harry Spencer (@H_B_Spencer) April 5, 2022
Some people died at the Donghai elderly care center, after the staff was removed by the government because some came down with COVID.
This is Shen Peiming. She died on Sunday morning at the age of 71. She was one of the patients at Donghai Elderly Care hospital in Shanghai. Patients have died at the hospital, but relatives have little info on what happened w/@dakekang — https://t.co/FlwaH0tTls pic.twitter.com/EXtIDckG1F
— Huizhong Wu (@huizhong_wu) April 9, 2022
They brought in temporary help who didn’t have medical training.
Perhaps this is the salt on the wound, all the relatives we spoke with are unable to visit the deceased because of the lockdown. Instead, they are stuck at home. In an echo of Wuhan’s lockdown, they’re being asked to cremate their loved ones without seeing them.
— Huizhong Wu (@huizhong_wu) April 9, 2022
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.
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