Shanghai's new normal
I feel more comfortable talking about this topic now that the lockdowns are coming to a close…sort of.
The anxiety-inducing Shanghai lockdowns were lifted on June 1st, and workers, students, and businesses are now set to return back to their regular lives. It seems the era of people dangling their dogs out the window to give them some fresh air, or the entire contents of people’s fridges being tossed out and their apartments doused in disinfectant, are coming to an end. Or at least it is for now.
However, a spate of new, localised lockdowns in Shanghai are sparking talk that the lockdown may resume. There’s also the fact that most restrictions remain in place, and mass testing has become a routine for most of the city’s residents. Despite the government’s attempts to put on a happy face, there’s no denying that something is not quite right about the current situation.
So how does the new covid policy look from the Chinese side? What image is the government projecting? Is this any indication of a long-term stance on Shanghai? Or could the lockdowns start up again just as quickly as they did the first time around?
Positive vibes
So far, Chinese media has been keen to project a positive image of post-lockdown life in Shanghai, both socially and financially. Inline with its general aim of promoting a healthy economy, the government has been quick to get Shanghai business back up and on its feet post-lockdown. The Export-Import Bank of China has issued bonds “to promote work and production resumption in Shanghai.”
“The bank said it has introduced a series of measures to support foreign trade, aid anti-epidemic efforts and help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises since the beginning of this year.”
Apparently, foreign companies are lining up around the building to invest in Shanghai, which is apparently “a vivid testimony of the unswerving appeal of the mainland market to overseas investors, as they see its long-term potential, as well as the advantages of setting up factories in mainland, as being much more important than the "one-time short period shock" of the coronavirus impact.”
The government has also worked hard to make sure the day-to-day running of the country has not been disrupted by events in its (arguably) most important city. The yearly college entrance exam, gaokao, still took place, with almost 12 million students sitting the exam this year. Though the exam has been suspended in Shanghai, the rest of the country took the exam as usual, and those who tested positive for covid in other parts of the country still allowed to take the exam in quarantine. Schools in Shanghai have also returned to in-person teaching, though under new, heavy restrictions.
In fact, Shanghai is such a good place to be that the government is opening up the city’s doors to top students who studied around the world. Those students who graduated from the world’s top 50 universities have been offered a coveted Shanghai hukou, allowing them to live in the city if they can find work there (I’d just like to stop here and point out that as a graduate of Edinburgh university I technically would have qualified for this promotion and almost definitely would have taken it up when I was 21).
This is apparently part of a bundle of 50 measures to “boost a fast recovery of economic and social activities” across the city. These include stimulating foreign investment and encouraging people to go back to work, as well as lifting all bans on manufacturing and in-person shopping. But is going back to business as usual really as straightforward as it's being made to appear?
Rumour has it
Despite all the positive signs the government is trying to put out there, there have been rumblings of a resurgence in cases and, worse, a possible resumption of a city-wide lockdown. The city has reported 107 new cases since the lockdown was lifted on June 1st, but despite this relatively low number of cases, the local government remains as strict as ever.
Several districts have been ordered to take covid tests over the weekend, around 5 million people in total. Several districts and compounds have been put under local quarantine, and there are now 20 “medium-risk” areas around the city. Even those who live in districts not under lockdown have experienced difficulty. According to one article:
“Some buildings had green fences installed, barring residents from leaving and resembled the early days of lockdown in April. Community volunteers in full hazmat suits were seen guarding the area Wednesday morning, as delivery drivers passed packages through the fences.
Behind the green fences, people described confusion and pressure to leave home for quarantine centers. Residents Miranda Tsetskhladze and George Mocea told Sixth Tone that they had a “traumatic” experience, as hazmat-suited workers surrounded them on the street and stopped them from leaving in an effort to push them to get on a bus to a quarantine hotel.”
Shanghai’s businesses may continue to struggle too, despite the government’s upbeat remarks about the economy. Even if investment continues to roll in, it is, after all, the people on the ground and the small businesses run by ordinary people that will continue to feel the blowback from the lockdown.
The store had usually 50 to 100 customers per day prior to the epidemic, but now only five to 10 customers visit. “I don’t think [the city] is really alive yet, it hasn’t recovered yet, and there are still a lot of people who are working in a closed-loop, or they’re still locked down, or they’re worried, and there’s really no sense of resumption of work.”
“Many clothing stores aren’t able to survive any longer,” she said. About 300 meters away from her shop, another clothing store seems to have closed, with cardboard boxes, fake flowers, and naked mannequins stacked inside.
The new normal
Whether or not the threat of Covid-19 has really passed, the Chinese government remains unwavering in its attitude towards combating the virus. They continue to promote the policy of reaching zero infections, and remaining hyper-vigiliant about testing and spotting possible outbreaks.
According to the Shanghai Municipal Government, the new policy is to have testing every few days, particularly in high risk areas:
“In addition to nucleic acid screening for personnel in closed control areas, control areas, medium and high-risk areas, and other epidemic-related control areas, areas that have reported socially positive infections since June 1 will have Nucleic acid screening carried out [regularly].
It is understood that Pudong New District, Huangpu District, Jing'an District, Xuhui District, Hongkou District, Baoshan District, Minhang District and other districts will implement "exhaustive inspections" on weekends, including residential villages, buildings, parks, streets, places, etc. to ensure that no one household or one person is missed. The citizens of the relevant areas are requested to support and cooperate.”
As of right now, there is no word of a new city-wide lockdown being enforced. But then again, the first one also came as a surprise. Despite the lack of preparation, the people of Shanghai seem to be recovering quickly, not unlike most of the world in the post-2020 haze. Though the demand to show an up-to-date negative test to get on the train, go to the shops, or participate in basically any aspect of ordinary life is starting to grate on some citizens.
Of course, we’re unlikely to ever know the true extent of the toll the lockdown has taken on the people of Shanghai. We will not see any suicide statistics, no mental health projections will be released, and the truth about who died (and of what causes) will remained behind firewalls, despite how hard people work to keep their memories alive. The closest we’ll get is little tidbits such as a surge in divorce filings, only for the phenomenon to be dismissed as a clerical error.
Instead, the people of Shanghai will just have to get back to work, back to business as usual, and focus on adapting to their new reality.
Sources
Global Times, Shanghai opens hukou to students who graduated from top 50 world universities
Global Times, More foreign investments flow in Shanghai, defying prediction
Global Times, Divorce registrations rise in Shanghai after lockdown lift, mainly due to ‘backlog of cases’
Global Times, 上海:将严肃追责 [Shanghai: To be held seriously accountable]
People’s Daily, Shanghai Disney Resort to partially resume operations
People’s Daily, China holds national college entrance exam with tailored COVID-19 countermeasures
People’s Daily, China EximBank issues bonds to support production resumption in Shanghai
People’s Daily, Shanghai resumes offline classes for senior high school students
Sixth Tone, New Rules for Schools in Shanghai, Added Pressure for Students
Sixth Tone, A Shanghai District Declares Snap Lockdown for Mass COVID Testing
Sixth Tone, Shanghai Spring/Summer 2022: The Season That Never Was
Sixth Tone, In a Reopened Shanghai, Residents Look for Signs of Normalcy
What’s on Weibo, Complaints Pour In About Shanghai’s ‘Normalized’ Nucleic Acid Tests