https://archive.ph/60aoK

Anger Over Covid Lockdowns Mounts in Shanghai

Restrictions have strained nerves and livelihoods in China’s largest and
wealthiest city, eroding some residents’ trust in authorities; ‘I’ve
lost confidence in this government’
By Stella Yifan Xie and Natasha Khan
April 15, 2022 12:15 pm ET
Discontent is deepening across Shanghai, China’s largest and wealthiest
city, now several weeks into a rigid lockdown aimed at crushing a Covid
outbreak that is straining the nerves and affecting livelihoods of its
25 million residents and eroding the public’s trust in authorities.
The effects that have played out in recent weeks—food shortages, lack of
access to medical care, overcrowded quarantine centers and infants
separated from their parents—have frayed nerves across a city that has
long prided itself as a pragmatic financial hub at the forefront of
China’s decadeslong shift to a market economy.
“I’ve lost confidence in this government,” said one 36-year-old Shanghai
native surnamed Chen, who declined to provide his given name because it
remains risky to openly criticize political leaders. “Only during a
crisis can you make a proper evaluation of the government’s performance.”
Mr. Chen, who has been confined at home for more than a month, said he
hasn’t been able to feed his family of four on the government-supplied
rations of vegetables and milk. While he has managed to order some
groceries online, soaring prices and scarce supplies of bread and other
essentials risk draining his savings as the lockdown drags on, he said.
“We’ve waited patiently for the lockdown to get lifted. When will this
end?” he said.
Shanghai eased rules in some neighborhoods this week, but most residents
remain confined to their homes. Some expressed worries about food and
said they are increasingly disillusioned by the prospect of an
open-ended Covid lockdown.
Among more than two dozen residents who spoke from lockdown, some said
they are reaching a breaking point more than two years into the
pandemic. Some are considering leaving the country for good.
“The damage has been done,” said Liu Yun, a 34-year-old Shanghai native
and technology entrepreneur who said he has begun contemplating
emigrating to Singapore while confined at home with his wife and two
children. “More elites will start re-evaluating their relationship with
the city and this country.”
Even those who aren’t considering leaving said they expect some economic
and psychological scars to endure, along with resentment toward Beijing.
China has stuck to a zero-Covid policy under Chinese leader Xi Jinping,
who is widely expected this fall to extend his rule for at least another
five years.
Eighty-seven of China’s biggest 100 cities, from Changchun in the
country’s far northeast to its southern metropolis of Guangzhou,
collectively accounting for more than half of China’s population and
overall economic output, have imposed restrictions on movements and
activities because of the current outbreak, according to an estimate by
Gavekal Dragonomics, a research firm. On Friday, Xi’an, which earlier
this year emerged from a monthlong lockdown, tightened restrictions again.

Residents lined up for Covid tests in a compound in Shanghai this week.
PHOTO: LIU JIN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
Few cities in China have the economic and political importance of
Shanghai, which for most of the past century has been a base of
prosperity at the forefront of the country’s engagement with the world.
Shanghai has served as a laboratory for many of China’s most important
market reforms. It is home to the world’s largest container port, the
country’s main stock exchange and many of its leading scholars, writers
and artists.
The city has been a crucial steppingstone for generations of China’s
leaders, including Mr. Xi, who was appointed the city’s top party
official in 2007.
Shanghai earlier had a more lenient Covid strategy, using targeted
lockdowns for affected residences, but tightened and extended
restrictions amid a visit by
Sun Chunlan, a vice premier, beginning April 2. Residents see the change
as a sign Beijing demanded full compliance with China’s zero-Covid
policy, which Mr. Xi has touted.
A spokesperson for the Shanghai government didn’t respond to a request
for comment.
Even as Covid cases spread in the city this spring, authorities insisted
that a citywide lockdown wouldn’t be necessary—right up until the day
before the abrupt March 27 announcement of mass lockdown measures that
caught tens of millions of residents unprepared.
That initial lockdown was set to last four days for the eastern half of
the city, then four days for the western half. With case counts still
soaring to new highs, however, authorities then said the lockdown would
be extended indefinitely. Many of those confined to their homes because
of potential contact with Covid cases before the citywide lockdown have
already been kept at home for more than a month, with no clear prospect
of release soon.
Residents said they worry that even after the citywide restrictions are
lifted, the Omicron variant’s transmissibility means sudden lockdowns
and tough tactics could return at any time, casting a cloud of
uncertainty that could last for years.
Since the broad lockdowns began in late March, food shortages have
spread as pandemic measures upended supply chains, leaving some reliant
on bartering and the goodwill of neighbors to survive. Some patients
with non-Covid medical needs have been left to fend for themselves,
while many have resisted being sent to the city’s chaotic and in some
cases unhygienic makeshift quarantine centers.
Shanghai on Thursday reported a record 27,000 new daily infections for
the prior day, bringing the city’s total official caseload since March 1
to more than 220,000 so far. While no deaths have been reported by
authorities, at least three large elderly care hospitals have been
overwhelmed by Covid outbreaks, resulting in patient deaths.
Authorities have been swift to censor people’s complaints and what they
call rumors online. On March 22, two men who shared information about
Shanghai’s coming lockdown were investigated by the police on suspicions
of “spreading fabricated information.” As the lockdown continues, more
people are venting frustration at the Covid restrictions, saying they
are harming people’s livelihoods and straining medical resources,
despite potential repercussions.
In a viral online post, one Shanghai resident complained that the
endurance of residents had “reached its limit,” listing a litany of
tragedies and grievances. “Are there officials who still listen to the
people?” wrote the person, who identified herself only as An Ordinary
Citizen. “How much more do we have to pay in exchange for truly putting
people first?”
The post was blocked on Thursday for a few hours before being restored
that evening. The person didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Community workers delivered food rations on Tuesday.
PHOTO: ALEX PLAVEVSKI/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
Frank Tsai, a longtime Shanghai resident who hosts business and cultural
events through his company China Crossroads, initially supported the
country’s strict Covid measures, but said he was shocked by the food and
supply bottlenecks in Shanghai, which is widely regarded as one of
China’s most progressive and best-managed cities.
“This regime from its very founding was built on the elimination of
material anxiety, so it’s ironic that food insecurity is happening in
Shanghai of all places,” he said.
People must “firmly hold on to its pandemic policy without wavering,”
China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency said Thursday in an editorial,
calling on the public to “look at the big picture” despite the
hardships. “Persistence is victory,” Mr. Xi was quoted saying.
The People’s Daily, the Communist Party organ, implored citizens to
“grit their teeth” and put their faith in government officials.
Some expatriates said the current lockdown is the final straw after
several years in which they felt China was turning increasingly inward.
“We are at a critical point. People are really fed up,” said Bettina
Schoen-Behanzin, vice president of the European Union Chamber of
Commerce in China.
Mr. Liu, the technology entrepreneur, was first confined to his home
with his wife and two children on March 14, when the entrance to his
residential compound was abruptly sealed after several neighbors were
identified as “close contacts” with infected individuals. Later, the
stringent citywide lockdowns began.

Li Bing said he worried about what would happen to his cats if he tests
positive.
PHOTO: LI BING
Mr. Liu’s social-media feed became filled with videos and messages of
physical conflicts between residents and health workers tasked with
keeping people at home, making him more anxious and pessimistic.
“I’m afraid that this fight against the pandemic will evolve into some
kind of social movement, where people at the bottom of the society end
up hurting each other,” said Mr. Liu. “That’s terrifying.”
Mr. Liu said he also worries about the roughly 200 employees at the
company he founded 10 years ago, a business-to-business e-commerce
platform, many of whom are struggling to get enough food during the
lockdown. His company, too, is struggling from waning demand that he
attributes in part to the country’s lockdowns.
Li Bing, a 33-year-old employee at a different technology company, said
he felt emotionally weighed down after reading numerous online pleas
from residents struggling to get enough food and medical help. Last
week, a video showing a pandemic prevention worker in a hazmat suit
beating a corgi to death after its owners were sent to a centralized
quarantine center sparked online fury.
“What would happen to my cats? Would they be beaten to death?” said Mr.
Li, a native of Xi’an who has lived in Shanghai for six years with his
girlfriend and two cats. He said the prospect of testing positive for
Covid has stirred his anxiety and made him more eager to leave China
than ever.
“We have witnessed so many humanitarian disasters already,” said Mr. Li.
“I simply want to live as a normal person, with dignity.”

On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 09:26:46 -0700, Michael Ejercito
<MEjercit@HotMail.com> wrote:

>https://archive.ph/60aoK
>
>
>Anger Over Covid Lockdowns Mounts in Shanghai
>
>Restrictions have strained nerves and livelihoods in China’s largest and
>wealthiest city, eroding some residents’ trust in authorities; ‘I’ve
>lost confidence in this government’
>By Stella Yifan Xie and Natasha Khan
>April 15, 2022 12:15 pm ET
>Discontent is deepening across Shanghai, China’s largest and wealthiest
>city, now several weeks into a rigid lockdown aimed at crushing a Covid
>outbreak that is straining the nerves and affecting livelihoods of its
>25 million residents and eroding the public’s trust in authorities.
>The effects that have played out in recent weeks—food shortages, lack of
>access to medical care, overcrowded quarantine centers and infants
>separated from their parents—have frayed nerves across a city that has
>long prided itself as a pragmatic financial hub at the forefront of
>China’s decadeslong shift to a market economy.
>“I’ve lost confidence in this government,” said one 36-year-old Shanghai
>native surnamed Chen, who declined to provide his given name because it
>remains risky to openly criticize political leaders. “Only during a
>crisis can you make a proper evaluation of the government’s performance.”
>Mr. Chen, who has been confined at home for more than a month, said he
>hasn’t been able to feed his family of four on the government-supplied
>rations of vegetables and milk. While he has managed to order some
>groceries online, soaring prices and scarce supplies of bread and other
>essentials risk draining his savings as the lockdown drags on, he said.
>“We’ve waited patiently for the lockdown to get lifted. When will this
>end?” he said.
>Shanghai eased rules in some neighborhoods this week, but most residents
>remain confined to their homes. Some expressed worries about food and
>said they are increasingly disillusioned by the prospect of an
>open-ended Covid lockdown.
>Among more than two dozen residents who spoke from lockdown, some said
>they are reaching a breaking point more than two years into the
>pandemic. Some are considering leaving the country for good.
>“The damage has been done,” said Liu Yun, a 34-year-old Shanghai native
>and technology entrepreneur who said he has begun contemplating
>emigrating to Singapore while confined at home with his wife and two
>children. “More elites will start re-evaluating their relationship with
>the city and this country.”
>Even those who aren’t considering leaving said they expect some economic
>and psychological scars to endure, along with resentment toward Beijing.
>China has stuck to a zero-Covid policy under Chinese leader Xi Jinping,
>who is widely expected this fall to extend his rule for at least another
>five years.
>Eighty-seven of China’s biggest 100 cities, from Changchun in the
>country’s far northeast to its southern metropolis of Guangzhou,
>collectively accounting for more than half of China’s population and
>overall economic output, have imposed restrictions on movements and
>activities because of the current outbreak, according to an estimate by
>Gavekal Dragonomics, a research firm. On Friday, Xi’an, which earlier
>this year emerged from a monthlong lockdown, tightened restrictions again.
>
>Residents lined up for Covid tests in a compound in Shanghai this week.
>PHOTO: LIU JIN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
>Few cities in China have the economic and political importance of
>Shanghai, which for most of the past century has been a base of
>prosperity at the forefront of the country’s engagement with the world.
>Shanghai has served as a laboratory for many of China’s most important
>market reforms. It is home to the world’s largest container port, the
>country’s main stock exchange and many of its leading scholars, writers
>and artists.
>The city has been a crucial steppingstone for generations of China’s
>leaders, including Mr. Xi, who was appointed the city’s top party
>official in 2007.
>Shanghai earlier had a more lenient Covid strategy, using targeted
>lockdowns for affected residences, but tightened and extended
>restrictions amid a visit by
>Sun Chunlan, a vice premier, beginning April 2. Residents see the change
>as a sign Beijing demanded full compliance with China’s zero-Covid
>policy, which Mr. Xi has touted.
>A spokesperson for the Shanghai government didn’t respond to a request
>for comment.
>Even as Covid cases spread in the city this spring, authorities insisted
>that a citywide lockdown wouldn’t be necessary—right up until the day
>before the abrupt March 27 announcement of mass lockdown measures that
>caught tens of millions of residents unprepared.
>That initial lockdown was set to last four days for the eastern half of
>the city, then four days for the western half. With case counts still
>soaring to new highs, however, authorities then said the lockdown would
>be extended indefinitely. Many of those confined to their homes because
>of potential contact with Covid cases before the citywide lockdown have
>already been kept at home for more than a month, with no clear prospect
>of release soon.
>Residents said they worry that even after the citywide restrictions are
>lifted, the Omicron variant’s transmissibility means sudden lockdowns
>and tough tactics could return at any time, casting a cloud of
>uncertainty that could last for years.
>Since the broad lockdowns began in late March, food shortages have
>spread as pandemic measures upended supply chains, leaving some reliant
>on bartering and the goodwill of neighbors to survive. Some patients
>with non-Covid medical needs have been left to fend for themselves,
>while many have resisted being sent to the city’s chaotic and in some
>cases unhygienic makeshift quarantine centers.
>Shanghai on Thursday reported a record 27,000 new daily infections for
>the prior day, bringing the city’s total official caseload since March 1
>to more than 220,000 so far. While no deaths have been reported by
>authorities, at least three large elderly care hospitals have been
>overwhelmed by Covid outbreaks, resulting in patient deaths.
>Authorities have been swift to censor people’s complaints and what they
>call rumors online. On March 22, two men who shared information about
>Shanghai’s coming lockdown were investigated by the police on suspicions
>of “spreading fabricated information.” As the lockdown continues, more
>people are venting frustration at the Covid restrictions, saying they
>are harming people’s livelihoods and straining medical resources,
>despite potential repercussions.
>In a viral online post, one Shanghai resident complained that the
>endurance of residents had “reached its limit,” listing a litany of
>tragedies and grievances. “Are there officials who still listen to the
>people?” wrote the person, who identified herself only as An Ordinary
>Citizen. “How much more do we have to pay in exchange for truly putting
>people first?”
>The post was blocked on Thursday for a few hours before being restored
>that evening. The person didn’t respond to a request for comment.
>
>Community workers delivered food rations on Tuesday.
>PHOTO: ALEX PLAVEVSKI/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
>Frank Tsai, a longtime Shanghai resident who hosts business and cultural
>events through his company China Crossroads, initially supported the
>country’s strict Covid measures, but said he was shocked by the food and
>supply bottlenecks in Shanghai, which is widely regarded as one of
>China’s most progressive and best-managed cities.
>“This regime from its very founding was built on the elimination of
>material anxiety, so it’s ironic that food insecurity is happening in
>Shanghai of all places,” he said.
>People must “firmly hold on to its pandemic policy without wavering,”
>China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency said Thursday in an editorial,
>calling on the public to “look at the big picture” despite the
>hardships. “Persistence is victory,” Mr. Xi was quoted saying.
>The People’s Daily, the Communist Party organ, implored citizens to
>“grit their teeth” and put their faith in government officials.
>Some expatriates said the current lockdown is the final straw after
>several years in which they felt China was turning increasingly inward.
>“We are at a critical point. People are really fed up,” said Bettina
>Schoen-Behanzin, vice president of the European Union Chamber of
>Commerce in China.
>Mr. Liu, the technology entrepreneur, was first confined to his home
>with his wife and two children on March 14, when the entrance to his
>residential compound was abruptly sealed after several neighbors were
>identified as “close contacts” with infected individuals. Later, the
>stringent citywide lockdowns began.
>
>Li Bing said he worried about what would happen to his cats if he tests
>positive.
>PHOTO: LI BING
>Mr. Liu’s social-media feed became filled with videos and messages of
>physical conflicts between residents and health workers tasked with
>keeping people at home, making him more anxious and pessimistic.
>“I’m afraid that this fight against the pandemic will evolve into some
>kind of social movement, where people at the bottom of the society end
>up hurting each other,” said Mr. Liu. “That’s terrifying.”
>Mr. Liu said he also worries about the roughly 200 employees at the
>company he founded 10 years ago, a business-to-business e-commerce
>platform, many of whom are struggling to get enough food during the
>lockdown. His company, too, is struggling from waning demand that he
>attributes in part to the country’s lockdowns.
>Li Bing, a 33-year-old employee at a different technology company, said
>he felt emotionally weighed down after reading numerous online pleas
>from residents struggling to get enough food and medical help. Last
>week, a video showing a pandemic prevention worker in a hazmat suit
>beating a corgi to death after its owners were sent to a centralized
>quarantine center sparked online fury.
>“What would happen to my cats? Would they be beaten to death?” said Mr.
>Li, a native of Xi’an who has lived in Shanghai for six years with his
>girlfriend and two cats. He said the prospect of testing positive for
>Covid has stirred his anxiety and made him more eager to leave China
>than ever.
>“We have witnessed so many humanitarian disasters already,” said Mr. Li.
>“I simply want to live as a normal person, with dignity.”

Loose Cannon wrote:
> On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 09:26:46 -0700, Michael Ejercito
> <MEjercit@HotMail.com> wrote:
>
>> https://archive.ph/60aoK
>>
>>
>> Anger Over Covid Lockdowns Mounts in Shanghai
>>
>> Restrictions have strained nerves and livelihoods in China’s largest and
>> wealthiest city, eroding some residents’ trust in authorities; ‘I’ve
>> lost confidence in this government’
>> By Stella Yifan Xie and Natasha Khan
>> April 15, 2022 12:15 pm ET
>> Discontent is deepening across Shanghai, China’s largest and wealthiest
>> city, now several weeks into a rigid lockdown aimed at crushing a Covid
>> outbreak that is straining the nerves and affecting livelihoods of its
>> 25 million residents and eroding the public’s trust in authorities.
>> The effects that have played out in recent weeks—food shortages, lack of
>> access to medical care, overcrowded quarantine centers and infants
>> separated from their parents—have frayed nerves across a city that has
>> long prided itself as a pragmatic financial hub at the forefront of
>> China’s decadeslong shift to a market economy.
>> “I’ve lost confidence in this government,” said one 36-year-old Shanghai
>> native surnamed Chen, who declined to provide his given name because it
>> remains risky to openly criticize political leaders. “Only during a
>> crisis can you make a proper evaluation of the government’s performance.”
>> Mr. Chen, who has been confined at home for more than a month, said he
>> hasn’t been able to feed his family of four on the government-supplied
>> rations of vegetables and milk. While he has managed to order some
>> groceries online, soaring prices and scarce supplies of bread and other
>> essentials risk draining his savings as the lockdown drags on, he said.
>> “We’ve waited patiently for the lockdown to get lifted. When will this
>> end?” he said.
>> Shanghai eased rules in some neighborhoods this week, but most residents
>> remain confined to their homes. Some expressed worries about food and
>> said they are increasingly disillusioned by the prospect of an
>> open-ended Covid lockdown.
>> Among more than two dozen residents who spoke from lockdown, some said
>> they are reaching a breaking point more than two years into the
>> pandemic. Some are considering leaving the country for good.
>> “The damage has been done,” said Liu Yun, a 34-year-old Shanghai native
>> and technology entrepreneur who said he has begun contemplating
>> emigrating to Singapore while confined at home with his wife and two
>> children. “More elites will start re-evaluating their relationship with
>> the city and this country.”
>> Even those who aren’t considering leaving said they expect some economic
>> and psychological scars to endure, along with resentment toward Beijing.
>> China has stuck to a zero-Covid policy under Chinese leader Xi Jinping,
>> who is widely expected this fall to extend his rule for at least another
>> five years.
>> Eighty-seven of China’s biggest 100 cities, from Changchun in the
>> country’s far northeast to its southern metropolis of Guangzhou,
>> collectively accounting for more than half of China’s population and
>> overall economic output, have imposed restrictions on movements and
>> activities because of the current outbreak, according to an estimate by
>> Gavekal Dragonomics, a research firm. On Friday, Xi’an, which earlier
>> this year emerged from a monthlong lockdown, tightened restrictions again.
>>
>> Residents lined up for Covid tests in a compound in Shanghai this week.
>> PHOTO: LIU JIN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
>> Few cities in China have the economic and political importance of
>> Shanghai, which for most of the past century has been a base of
>> prosperity at the forefront of the country’s engagement with the world.
>> Shanghai has served as a laboratory for many of China’s most important
>> market reforms. It is home to the world’s largest container port, the
>> country’s main stock exchange and many of its leading scholars, writers
>> and artists.
>> The city has been a crucial steppingstone for generations of China’s
>> leaders, including Mr. Xi, who was appointed the city’s top party
>> official in 2007.
>> Shanghai earlier had a more lenient Covid strategy, using targeted
>> lockdowns for affected residences, but tightened and extended
>> restrictions amid a visit by
>> Sun Chunlan, a vice premier, beginning April 2. Residents see the change
>> as a sign Beijing demanded full compliance with China’s zero-Covid
>> policy, which Mr. Xi has touted.
>> A spokesperson for the Shanghai government didn’t respond to a request
>> for comment.
>> Even as Covid cases spread in the city this spring, authorities insisted
>> that a citywide lockdown wouldn’t be necessary—right up until the day
>> before the abrupt March 27 announcement of mass lockdown measures that
>> caught tens of millions of residents unprepared.
>> That initial lockdown was set to last four days for the eastern half of
>> the city, then four days for the western half. With case counts still
>> soaring to new highs, however, authorities then said the lockdown would
>> be extended indefinitely. Many of those confined to their homes because
>> of potential contact with Covid cases before the citywide lockdown have
>> already been kept at home for more than a month, with no clear prospect
>> of release soon.
>> Residents said they worry that even after the citywide restrictions are
>> lifted, the Omicron variant’s transmissibility means sudden lockdowns
>> and tough tactics could return at any time, casting a cloud of
>> uncertainty that could last for years.
>> Since the broad lockdowns began in late March, food shortages have
>> spread as pandemic measures upended supply chains, leaving some reliant
>> on bartering and the goodwill of neighbors to survive. Some patients
>> with non-Covid medical needs have been left to fend for themselves,
>> while many have resisted being sent to the city’s chaotic and in some
>> cases unhygienic makeshift quarantine centers.
>> Shanghai on Thursday reported a record 27,000 new daily infections for
>> the prior day, bringing the city’s total official caseload since March 1
>> to more than 220,000 so far. While no deaths have been reported by
>> authorities, at least three large elderly care hospitals have been
>> overwhelmed by Covid outbreaks, resulting in patient deaths.
>> Authorities have been swift to censor people’s complaints and what they
>> call rumors online. On March 22, two men who shared information about
>> Shanghai’s coming lockdown were investigated by the police on suspicions
>> of “spreading fabricated information.” As the lockdown continues, more
>> people are venting frustration at the Covid restrictions, saying they
>> are harming people’s livelihoods and straining medical resources,
>> despite potential repercussions.
>> In a viral online post, one Shanghai resident complained that the
>> endurance of residents had “reached its limit,” listing a litany of
>> tragedies and grievances. “Are there officials who still listen to the
>> people?” wrote the person, who identified herself only as An Ordinary
>> Citizen. “How much more do we have to pay in exchange for truly putting
>> people first?”
>> The post was blocked on Thursday for a few hours before being restored
>> that evening. The person didn’t respond to a request for comment.
>>
>> Community workers delivered food rations on Tuesday.
>> PHOTO: ALEX PLAVEVSKI/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
>> Frank Tsai, a longtime Shanghai resident who hosts business and cultural
>> events through his company China Crossroads, initially supported the
>> country’s strict Covid measures, but said he was shocked by the food and
>> supply bottlenecks in Shanghai, which is widely regarded as one of
>> China’s most progressive and best-managed cities.
>> “This regime from its very founding was built on the elimination of
>> material anxiety, so it’s ironic that food insecurity is happening in
>> Shanghai of all places,” he said.
>> People must “firmly hold on to its pandemic policy without wavering,”
>> China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency said Thursday in an editorial,
>> calling on the public to “look at the big picture” despite the
>> hardships. “Persistence is victory,” Mr. Xi was quoted saying.
>> The People’s Daily, the Communist Party organ, implored citizens to
>> “grit their teeth” and put their faith in government officials.
>> Some expatriates said the current lockdown is the final straw after
>> several years in which they felt China was turning increasingly inward.
>> “We are at a critical point. People are really fed up,” said Bettina
>> Schoen-Behanzin, vice president of the European Union Chamber of
>> Commerce in China.
>> Mr. Liu, the technology entrepreneur, was first confined to his home
>> with his wife and two children on March 14, when the entrance to his
>> residential compound was abruptly sealed after several neighbors were
>> identified as “close contacts” with infected individuals. Later, the
>> stringent citywide lockdowns began.
>>
>> Li Bing said he worried about what would happen to his cats if he tests
>> positive.
>> PHOTO: LI BING
>> Mr. Liu’s social-media feed became filled with videos and messages of
>> physical conflicts between residents and health workers tasked with
>> keeping people at home, making him more anxious and pessimistic.
>> “I’m afraid that this fight against the pandemic will evolve into some
>> kind of social movement, where people at the bottom of the society end
>> up hurting each other,” said Mr. Liu. “That’s terrifying.”
>> Mr. Liu said he also worries about the roughly 200 employees at the
>> company he founded 10 years ago, a business-to-business e-commerce
>> platform, many of whom are struggling to get enough food during the
>> lockdown. His company, too, is struggling from waning demand that he
>> attributes in part to the country’s lockdowns.
>> Li Bing, a 33-year-old employee at a different technology company, said
>> he felt emotionally weighed down after reading numerous online pleas
>>from residents struggling to get enough food and medical help. Last
>> week, a video showing a pandemic prevention worker in a hazmat suit
>> beating a corgi to death after its owners were sent to a centralized
>> quarantine center sparked online fury.
>> “What would happen to my cats? Would they be beaten to death?” said Mr.
>> Li, a native of Xi’an who has lived in Shanghai for six years with his
>> girlfriend and two cats. He said the prospect of testing positive for
>> Covid has stirred his anxiety and made him more eager to leave China
>> than ever.
>> “We have witnessed so many humanitarian disasters already,” said Mr. Li.
>> “I simply want to live as a normal person, with dignity.”
>
>
> What you gooks go through in your homeland is of no concern to us
> decent White people. Keep it in soc.culture.china or take that shit to
> alt.slant-eyed.slopes
There is nothing decent about you.

Michael Ejercito wrote:

>https://archive.ph/60aoK
>
>
>Anger Over Covid Lockdowns Mounts in Shanghai
>
>Restrictions have strained nerves and livelihoods in China’s largest and
>wealthiest city, eroding some residents’ trust in authorities; ‘I’ve
>lost confidence in this government’
>By Stella Yifan Xie and Natasha Khan
>April 15, 2022 12:15 pm ET
>Discontent is deepening across Shanghai, China’s largest and wealthiest
>city, now several weeks into a rigid lockdown aimed at crushing a Covid
>outbreak that is straining the nerves and affecting livelihoods of its
>25 million residents and eroding the public’s trust in authorities.
>The effects that have played out in recent weeks—food shortages, lack of
>access to medical care, overcrowded quarantine centers and infants
>separated from their parents—have frayed nerves across a city that has
>long prided itself as a pragmatic financial hub at the forefront of
>China’s decadeslong shift to a market economy.
>“I’ve lost confidence in this government,” said one 36-year-old Shanghai
>native surnamed Chen, who declined to provide his given name because it
>remains risky to openly criticize political leaders. “Only during a
>crisis can you make a proper evaluation of the government’s performance.”
>Mr. Chen, who has been confined at home for more than a month, said he
>hasn’t been able to feed his family of four on the government-supplied
>rations of vegetables and milk. While he has managed to order some
>groceries online, soaring prices and scarce supplies of bread and other
>essentials risk draining his savings as the lockdown drags on, he said.
>“We’ve waited patiently for the lockdown to get lifted. When will this
>end?” he said.
>Shanghai eased rules in some neighborhoods this week, but most residents
>remain confined to their homes. Some expressed worries about food and
>said they are increasingly disillusioned by the prospect of an
>open-ended Covid lockdown.
>Among more than two dozen residents who spoke from lockdown, some said
>they are reaching a breaking point more than two years into the
>pandemic. Some are considering leaving the country for good.
>“The damage has been done,” said Liu Yun, a 34-year-old Shanghai native
>and technology entrepreneur who said he has begun contemplating
>emigrating to Singapore while confined at home with his wife and two
>children. “More elites will start re-evaluating their relationship with
>the city and this country.”
>Even those who aren’t considering leaving said they expect some economic
>and psychological scars to endure, along with resentment toward Beijing.
>China has stuck to a zero-Covid policy under Chinese leader Xi Jinping,
>who is widely expected this fall to extend his rule for at least another
>five years.
>Eighty-seven of China’s biggest 100 cities, from Changchun in the
>country’s far northeast to its southern metropolis of Guangzhou,
>collectively accounting for more than half of China’s population and
>overall economic output, have imposed restrictions on movements and
>activities because of the current outbreak, according to an estimate by
>Gavekal Dragonomics, a research firm. On Friday, Xi’an, which earlier
>this year emerged from a monthlong lockdown, tightened restrictions again.
>
>Residents lined up for Covid tests in a compound in Shanghai this week.
>PHOTO: LIU JIN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
>Few cities in China have the economic and political importance of
>Shanghai, which for most of the past century has been a base of
>prosperity at the forefront of the country’s engagement with the world.
>Shanghai has served as a laboratory for many of China’s most important
>market reforms. It is home to the world’s largest container port, the
>country’s main stock exchange and many of its leading scholars, writers
>and artists.
>The city has been a crucial steppingstone for generations of China’s
>leaders, including Mr. Xi, who was appointed the city’s top party
>official in 2007.
>Shanghai earlier had a more lenient Covid strategy, using targeted
>lockdowns for affected residences, but tightened and extended
>restrictions amid a visit by
>Sun Chunlan, a vice premier, beginning April 2. Residents see the change
>as a sign Beijing demanded full compliance with China’s zero-Covid
>policy, which Mr. Xi has touted.
>A spokesperson for the Shanghai government didn’t respond to a request
>for comment.
>Even as Covid cases spread in the city this spring, authorities insisted
>that a citywide lockdown wouldn’t be necessary—right up until the day
>before the abrupt March 27 announcement of mass lockdown measures that
>caught tens of millions of residents unprepared.
>That initial lockdown was set to last four days for the eastern half of
>the city, then four days for the western half. With case counts still
>soaring to new highs, however, authorities then said the lockdown would
>be extended indefinitely. Many of those confined to their homes because
>of potential contact with Covid cases before the citywide lockdown have
>already been kept at home for more than a month, with no clear prospect
>of release soon.
>Residents said they worry that even after the citywide restrictions are
>lifted, the Omicron variant’s transmissibility means sudden lockdowns
>and tough tactics could return at any time, casting a cloud of
>uncertainty that could last for years.
>Since the broad lockdowns began in late March, food shortages have
>spread as pandemic measures upended supply chains, leaving some reliant
>on bartering and the goodwill of neighbors to survive. Some patients
>with non-Covid medical needs have been left to fend for themselves,
>while many have resisted being sent to the city’s chaotic and in some
>cases unhygienic makeshift quarantine centers.
>Shanghai on Thursday reported a record 27,000 new daily infections for
>the prior day, bringing the city’s total official caseload since March 1
>to more than 220,000 so far. While no deaths have been reported by
>authorities, at least three large elderly care hospitals have been
>overwhelmed by Covid outbreaks, resulting in patient deaths.
>Authorities have been swift to censor people’s complaints and what they
>call rumors online. On March 22, two men who shared information about
>Shanghai’s coming lockdown were investigated by the police on suspicions
>of “spreading fabricated information.” As the lockdown continues, more
>people are venting frustration at the Covid restrictions, saying they
>are harming people’s livelihoods and straining medical resources,
>despite potential repercussions.
>In a viral online post, one Shanghai resident complained that the
>endurance of residents had “reached its limit,” listing a litany of
>tragedies and grievances. “Are there officials who still listen to the
>people?” wrote the person, who identified herself only as An Ordinary
>Citizen. “How much more do we have to pay in exchange for truly putting
>people first?”
>The post was blocked on Thursday for a few hours before being restored
>that evening. The person didn’t respond to a request for comment.
>
>Community workers delivered food rations on Tuesday.
>PHOTO: ALEX PLAVEVSKI/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
>Frank Tsai, a longtime Shanghai resident who hosts business and cultural
>events through his company China Crossroads, initially supported the
>country’s strict Covid measures, but said he was shocked by the food and
>supply bottlenecks in Shanghai, which is widely regarded as one of
>China’s most progressive and best-managed cities.
>“This regime from its very founding was built on the elimination of
>material anxiety, so it’s ironic that food insecurity is happening in
>Shanghai of all places,” he said.
>People must “firmly hold on to its pandemic policy without wavering,”
>China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency said Thursday in an editorial,
>calling on the public to “look at the big picture” despite the
>hardships. “Persistence is victory,” Mr. Xi was quoted saying.
>The People’s Daily, the Communist Party organ, implored citizens to
>“grit their teeth” and put their faith in government officials.
>Some expatriates said the current lockdown is the final straw after
>several years in which they felt China was turning increasingly inward.
>“We are at a critical point. People are really fed up,” said Bettina
>Schoen-Behanzin, vice president of the European Union Chamber of
>Commerce in China.
>Mr. Liu, the technology entrepreneur, was first confined to his home
>with his wife and two children on March 14, when the entrance to his
>residential compound was abruptly sealed after several neighbors were
>identified as “close contacts” with infected individuals. Later, the
>stringent citywide lockdowns began.
>
>Li Bing said he worried about what would happen to his cats if he tests
>positive.
>PHOTO: LI BING
>Mr. Liu’s social-media feed became filled with videos and messages of
>physical conflicts between residents and health workers tasked with
>keeping people at home, making him more anxious and pessimistic.
>“I’m afraid that this fight against the pandemic will evolve into some
>kind of social movement, where people at the bottom of the society end
>up hurting each other,” said Mr. Liu. “That’s terrifying.”
>Mr. Liu said he also worries about the roughly 200 employees at the
>company he founded 10 years ago, a business-to-business e-commerce
>platform, many of whom are struggling to get enough food during the
>lockdown. His company, too, is struggling from waning demand that he
>attributes in part to the country’s lockdowns.
>Li Bing, a 33-year-old employee at a different technology company, said
>he felt emotionally weighed down after reading numerous online pleas
>from residents struggling to get enough food and medical help. Last
>week, a video showing a pandemic prevention worker in a hazmat suit
>beating a corgi to death after its owners were sent to a centralized
>quarantine center sparked online fury.
>“What would happen to my cats? Would they be beaten to death?” said Mr.
>Li, a native of Xi’an who has lived in Shanghai for six years with his
>girlfriend and two cats. He said the prospect of testing positive for
>Covid has stirred his anxiety and made him more eager to leave China
>than ever.
>“We have witnessed so many humanitarian disasters already,” said Mr. Li.
>“I simply want to live as a normal person, with dignity.”

(Stella) 04/17/22 KK tragically vainjangling (1 Tim 1:6) ...

https://groups.google.com/g/sci.med.cardiology/c/4tIJn_I167w/m/bKWQRUarAgAJ

Link to post explicating vainjangling by the eternally condemned:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/sci.med.cardiology/O23NguTslhI/-xLGqnNjAAAJ

"Like a moth to flame, the eternally condemned tragically return to be
ever more cursed by GOD."

Behold in wide-eyed wonder and amazement at the continued fulfillment
of this prophecy as clearly demonstrated within the following USENET
threads:

(1) Link to thread titled "LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth is our #1
Example of being wonderfully hungry;"

https://groups.google.com/g/sci.med.cardiology/c/_iVmOb7q3_Q/m/E8L7TNNtAgAJ

(2) Link to thread titled "Being wonderfully hungry;"

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/sci.med.cardiology/uCPb3ldOv5M

(3) Link to thread titled "A very very very simple definition of sin;"

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.bible.prophecy/xunFWhan_AM

(4) Link to thread titled "The LORD says 'Blessed are you who hunger
now;'"

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.bible.prophecy/e4sW8dr44rM

(5) Link to thread titled "Being wonderfully hungry like LORD Jesus;"

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.bible.prophecy/xPY1Uzl-ZNk/QeKLDNCpCwAJ

.... for the continued benefit (Romans 8:28) of those of us who are
http://bit.ly/wonderfully_hungry like GOD ( http://bit.ly/Lk2442 )
with all glory ( http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to the LORD.

Source:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/sci.med.cardiology/O23NguTslhI/pIZcsOCJBwAJ

Laus DEO !

While wonderfully hungry ( http://bit.ly/Philippians4_12 ) in the Holy
Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy 8:3) me to hunger right now (Luke
6:21a), I pray (2 Chronicles 7:14) that GOD continues to curse
(Jeremiah 17:5) you, who are eternally condemned (Mark 3:29), more
than ever in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.

Laus DEO ! ! !

Bottom line:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/sci.med.cardiology/O23NguTslhI/h5lE-mr0DAAJ

<begin trichotomy>

(1) Born-again (John 3:3 & 5) humans - Folks who have GOD's Help (i.e.
Holy Spirit) to stop (John 5:14) sinning by being
http://bit.ly/wonderfully_hungry (Philippians 4:12) **but** are still
able to choose via their own "free will" to be instead
http://bit.ly/terribly_hungry (Genesis 25:32) trapped in the
entangling (Hebrews 12:1) deadly (i.e. killed immortals Adam&Eve) sin
of gluttony (Proverbs 23:2).

(2) Eternally condemned (Mark 3:29) humans - Folks who will never have
GOD's Help (i.e. Holy Spirit) to stop being
http://bit.ly/terribly_hungry (2 Kings 6:29) as evident by their
constant vainjangling (1 Timothy 1:6) about everything except how to
stop (John 5:14) sinning.

(3) Perishing humans - The remaining folks who may possibly (Matthew
19:26) become born-again (John 3:3 & 5) as new (2 Corinthians 5:17)
creatures in Christ.

<end trichotomy>

Suggested further reading:
http://T3WiJ.com

+++

someone eternally condemned & ever more cursed by GOD wrote:
> HeartDoc Andrew, in the Holy Spirit, boldly wrote:
>
>> Subject: The LORD says "Blessed are you who hunger now ..."

Source:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.bible.prophecy/e4sW8dr44rM/NSkTJxvFBAAJ

>Shame on andrew, look at his red face.

LIE.

The color of my face in **not** visible here on USENET nor is the
color of my face red for those who can see me.

>He is trying to pull a fast one. His scripture bit is found among these:
>
>'14 Bible verses about Spiritual Hunger'

Such are the lies coming from the lying pens of the
http://bit.ly/terribly_hungry (Genesis 25:32) commentators.

That which is "spiritual" is independent of time so that there
would've been no reference to "now."

Therefore, the LORD is referring to physical hunger here instead of
the spiritual "hunger and thirst for righteousness" elsewhere in
Scripture.

Indeed, physical hunger can **not** coexist with physical thirst
because the latter results in the loss of saliva needed for physical
hunger.

It is when we hunger for food "now" (Luke 6:21a) that we are able to
eat food "now."

No such time constraints exist for "spiritual hunger."

Moreover, the perspective of Luke 6:21a through the eyes of a
physician (i.e. Dr. Luke) would be logically expected to be physical
instead of spiritual.

All glory ( http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD for His compelling you to
unwittingly demonstrate your ever worsening cognitive condition which
is tragically a consequence of His cursing (Jeremiah 17:5) you more
than ever.

Laus DEO !

+++

someone eternally condemned & ever more cursed by GOD perseverated:
(in a vain attempt to refute posts about being wonderfully hungry)

>Psalms
>81:10 I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt:
>open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Indeed, receiving a mouthful (Psalm 81:10) of manna from GOD will only
make His http://HeartMDPhD.com/Redeemed want even more, so that we're
even http://bit.ly/wonderfully_hungrier with all glory (
http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD.

Laus DEO !

>Proverbs
>13:25 The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, But the stomach of
>the wicked is in need.

Indeed, the righteous know to be satisfied (Luke 6:21a) with an omer
(Exodus 16:16) of manna, while the wicked need (Proverbs 13:25) this
knowledge as evident by their eating until they are full (i.e.
satiated).

>Joel
>2:26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of
>the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my
>people shall never be ashamed.
Indeed, an omer (32 ounces per Revelation 6:6) of manna is plenty
(Joel 2:26) with all glory ( http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD and to
the shame of you, who are eternally (Mark 3:29) condemned.

Laus DEO ! !

>Psalms
>107 For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Indeed, being filled (Psalm 107:9) with an omer (Exodus 16:16) of
manna is a Wonderful (Isaiah 9:6) thing while being satiated (i.e.
full) is evil.

>Acts
>14:17 "Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by
>giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying
>your hearts with food and gladness."

In the interim, you, who are eternally (Mark 3:29) condemned, will
never be satisfied (Acts 14:17) because you are ever more cursed
(Jeremiah 17:5) by GOD.

Source:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/sci.med.cardiology/uCPb3ldOv5M/KgM8NFKuAQAJ

+++

> someone eternally condemned & ever more cursed by GOD perseverated:
>> HeartDoc Andrew, in the Holy Spirit, boldly wrote:
>>
>> Subject: a very very very simple definition of sin ...

Source:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/sci.med.cardiology/mXmFD9kIocc/y8GNXircBQAJ

>> Does andrew's "definition" agree with scripture? Let's see in 1 John:

Actually, sin is **not** defined in 1 John 1:8-10
>> John wrote this to christians. The greek grammer (sic) speaks of an ongoing
>> status. He includes himself in that status.

John was a Jew instead of a Greek so there is really no reason to
think that Greek grammar is relevant here.

>> 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is
>> not in us.
>>
>> 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
>> and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
>>
>> 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is
>> not in us.

John also wrote earlier at John 5:14 that LORD Jesus commands:

"Now stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." (John 5:14)
And, indeed, your being eternally condemned (Mark 3:29) & ever more
cursed (Jeremiah 17:5) by GOD, as evident by your ever worsening
cognitive deficits, is really worse.

Now again, here's how to really stop sinning as LORD Jesus commands
(John 5:14):

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.bible.prophecy/2-Qpn-o81J4/ldGubKEZAgAJ

While wonderfully hungry ( http://bit.ly/Philippians4_12 ) in the Holy
Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy 8:3) me to hunger right now (Luke
6:21a), I again pray (2 Chronicles 7:14) that GOD continues to curse
(Jeremiah 17:5) you, who are eternally condemned (Mark 3:29), more
than ever in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.

Laus DEO ! ! !

Again, this is done in hopes of convincing all reading this to stop
being http://bit.ly/terribly_hungry (2 Kings 6:29) where all are in
danger of becoming eternally condemned (Mark 3:29) just as had
happened to Ananias and Sapphira and more contemporaneously to Bob
Pastorio.

Again, the LORD did strike down http://bit.ly/Bob_Pastorio on Fool's
day just 9+ years ago:

HeartDoc Andrew wrote:
> Michael Ejercito wrote:
>
>> https://archive.ph/60aoK
>>
>>
>> Anger Over Covid Lockdowns Mounts in Shanghai
>>
>> Restrictions have strained nerves and livelihoods in China’s largest and
>> wealthiest city, eroding some residents’ trust in authorities; ‘I’ve
>> lost confidence in this government’
>> By Stella Yifan Xie and Natasha Khan
>> April 15, 2022 12:15 pm ET
>> Discontent is deepening across Shanghai, China’s largest and wealthiest
>> city, now several weeks into a rigid lockdown aimed at crushing a Covid
>> outbreak that is straining the nerves and affecting livelihoods of its
>> 25 million residents and eroding the public’s trust in authorities.
>> The effects that have played out in recent weeks—food shortages, lack of
>> access to medical care, overcrowded quarantine centers and infants
>> separated from their parents—have frayed nerves across a city that has
>> long prided itself as a pragmatic financial hub at the forefront of
>> China’s decadeslong shift to a market economy.
>> “I’ve lost confidence in this government,” said one 36-year-old Shanghai
>> native surnamed Chen, who declined to provide his given name because it
>> remains risky to openly criticize political leaders. “Only during a
>> crisis can you make a proper evaluation of the government’s performance.”
>> Mr. Chen, who has been confined at home for more than a month, said he
>> hasn’t been able to feed his family of four on the government-supplied
>> rations of vegetables and milk. While he has managed to order some
>> groceries online, soaring prices and scarce supplies of bread and other
>> essentials risk draining his savings as the lockdown drags on, he said.
>> “We’ve waited patiently for the lockdown to get lifted. When will this
>> end?” he said.
>> Shanghai eased rules in some neighborhoods this week, but most residents
>> remain confined to their homes. Some expressed worries about food and
>> said they are increasingly disillusioned by the prospect of an
>> open-ended Covid lockdown.
>> Among more than two dozen residents who spoke from lockdown, some said
>> they are reaching a breaking point more than two years into the
>> pandemic. Some are considering leaving the country for good.
>> “The damage has been done,” said Liu Yun, a 34-year-old Shanghai native
>> and technology entrepreneur who said he has begun contemplating
>> emigrating to Singapore while confined at home with his wife and two
>> children. “More elites will start re-evaluating their relationship with
>> the city and this country.”
>> Even those who aren’t considering leaving said they expect some economic
>> and psychological scars to endure, along with resentment toward Beijing.
>> China has stuck to a zero-Covid policy under Chinese leader Xi Jinping,
>> who is widely expected this fall to extend his rule for at least another
>> five years.
>> Eighty-seven of China’s biggest 100 cities, from Changchun in the
>> country’s far northeast to its southern metropolis of Guangzhou,
>> collectively accounting for more than half of China’s population and
>> overall economic output, have imposed restrictions on movements and
>> activities because of the current outbreak, according to an estimate by
>> Gavekal Dragonomics, a research firm. On Friday, Xi’an, which earlier
>> this year emerged from a monthlong lockdown, tightened restrictions again.
>>
>> Residents lined up for Covid tests in a compound in Shanghai this week.
>> PHOTO: LIU JIN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
>> Few cities in China have the economic and political importance of
>> Shanghai, which for most of the past century has been a base of
>> prosperity at the forefront of the country’s engagement with the world.
>> Shanghai has served as a laboratory for many of China’s most important
>> market reforms. It is home to the world’s largest container port, the
>> country’s main stock exchange and many of its leading scholars, writers
>> and artists.
>> The city has been a crucial steppingstone for generations of China’s
>> leaders, including Mr. Xi, who was appointed the city’s top party
>> official in 2007.
>> Shanghai earlier had a more lenient Covid strategy, using targeted
>> lockdowns for affected residences, but tightened and extended
>> restrictions amid a visit by
>> Sun Chunlan, a vice premier, beginning April 2. Residents see the change
>> as a sign Beijing demanded full compliance with China’s zero-Covid
>> policy, which Mr. Xi has touted.
>> A spokesperson for the Shanghai government didn’t respond to a request
>> for comment.
>> Even as Covid cases spread in the city this spring, authorities insisted
>> that a citywide lockdown wouldn’t be necessary—right up until the day
>> before the abrupt March 27 announcement of mass lockdown measures that
>> caught tens of millions of residents unprepared.
>> That initial lockdown was set to last four days for the eastern half of
>> the city, then four days for the western half. With case counts still
>> soaring to new highs, however, authorities then said the lockdown would
>> be extended indefinitely. Many of those confined to their homes because
>> of potential contact with Covid cases before the citywide lockdown have
>> already been kept at home for more than a month, with no clear prospect
>> of release soon.
>> Residents said they worry that even after the citywide restrictions are
>> lifted, the Omicron variant’s transmissibility means sudden lockdowns
>> and tough tactics could return at any time, casting a cloud of
>> uncertainty that could last for years.
>> Since the broad lockdowns began in late March, food shortages have
>> spread as pandemic measures upended supply chains, leaving some reliant
>> on bartering and the goodwill of neighbors to survive. Some patients
>> with non-Covid medical needs have been left to fend for themselves,
>> while many have resisted being sent to the city’s chaotic and in some
>> cases unhygienic makeshift quarantine centers.
>> Shanghai on Thursday reported a record 27,000 new daily infections for
>> the prior day, bringing the city’s total official caseload since March 1
>> to more than 220,000 so far. While no deaths have been reported by
>> authorities, at least three large elderly care hospitals have been
>> overwhelmed by Covid outbreaks, resulting in patient deaths.
>> Authorities have been swift to censor people’s complaints and what they
>> call rumors online. On March 22, two men who shared information about
>> Shanghai’s coming lockdown were investigated by the police on suspicions
>> of “spreading fabricated information.” As the lockdown continues, more
>> people are venting frustration at the Covid restrictions, saying they
>> are harming people’s livelihoods and straining medical resources,
>> despite potential repercussions.
>> In a viral online post, one Shanghai resident complained that the
>> endurance of residents had “reached its limit,” listing a litany of
>> tragedies and grievances. “Are there officials who still listen to the
>> people?” wrote the person, who identified herself only as An Ordinary
>> Citizen. “How much more do we have to pay in exchange for truly putting
>> people first?”
>> The post was blocked on Thursday for a few hours before being restored
>> that evening. The person didn’t respond to a request for comment.
>>
>> Community workers delivered food rations on Tuesday.
>> PHOTO: ALEX PLAVEVSKI/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
>> Frank Tsai, a longtime Shanghai resident who hosts business and cultural
>> events through his company China Crossroads, initially supported the
>> country’s strict Covid measures, but said he was shocked by the food and
>> supply bottlenecks in Shanghai, which is widely regarded as one of
>> China’s most progressive and best-managed cities.
>> “This regime from its very founding was built on the elimination of
>> material anxiety, so it’s ironic that food insecurity is happening in
>> Shanghai of all places,” he said.
>> People must “firmly hold on to its pandemic policy without wavering,”
>> China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency said Thursday in an editorial,
>> calling on the public to “look at the big picture” despite the
>> hardships. “Persistence is victory,” Mr. Xi was quoted saying.
>> The People’s Daily, the Communist Party organ, implored citizens to
>> “grit their teeth” and put their faith in government officials.
>> Some expatriates said the current lockdown is the final straw after
>> several years in which they felt China was turning increasingly inward.
>> “We are at a critical point. People are really fed up,” said Bettina
>> Schoen-Behanzin, vice president of the European Union Chamber of
>> Commerce in China.
>> Mr. Liu, the technology entrepreneur, was first confined to his home
>> with his wife and two children on March 14, when the entrance to his
>> residential compound was abruptly sealed after several neighbors were
>> identified as “close contacts” with infected individuals. Later, the
>> stringent citywide lockdowns began.
>>
>> Li Bing said he worried about what would happen to his cats if he tests
>> positive.
>> PHOTO: LI BING
>> Mr. Liu’s social-media feed became filled with videos and messages of
>> physical conflicts between residents and health workers tasked with
>> keeping people at home, making him more anxious and pessimistic.
>> “I’m afraid that this fight against the pandemic will evolve into some
>> kind of social movement, where people at the bottom of the society end
>> up hurting each other,” said Mr. Liu. “That’s terrifying.”
>> Mr. Liu said he also worries about the roughly 200 employees at the
>> company he founded 10 years ago, a business-to-business e-commerce
>> platform, many of whom are struggling to get enough food during the
>> lockdown. His company, too, is struggling from waning demand that he
>> attributes in part to the country’s lockdowns.
>> Li Bing, a 33-year-old employee at a different technology company, said
>> he felt emotionally weighed down after reading numerous online pleas
>>from residents struggling to get enough food and medical help. Last
>> week, a video showing a pandemic prevention worker in a hazmat suit
>> beating a corgi to death after its owners were sent to a centralized
>> quarantine center sparked online fury.
>> “What would happen to my cats? Would they be beaten to death?” said Mr.
>> Li, a native of Xi’an who has lived in Shanghai for six years with his
>> girlfriend and two cats. He said the prospect of testing positive for
>> Covid has stirred his anxiety and made him more eager to leave China
>> than ever.
>> “We have witnessed so many humanitarian disasters already,” said Mr. Li.
>> “I simply want to live as a normal person, with dignity.”
>
> The only *healthy* way to stop the pandemic, thereby saving lives, in
> China & elsewhere is by rapidly ( http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 )
> finding out at any given moment, including even while on-line, who
> among us are unwittingly contagious (i.e pre-symptomatic or
> asymptomatic) in order to http://tinyurl.com/ConvinceItForward (John
> 15:12) for them to call their doctor and self-quarantine per their
> doctor in hopes of stopping this pandemic. Thus, we're hoping for the
> best while preparing for the worse-case scenario of the Alpha lineage
> mutations and others like the Omicron, Gamma, Beta, Epsilon, Iota,
> Lambda, Mu & Delta lineage mutations combining via
> slip-RNA-replication to form hybrids like
> http://tinyurl.com/Deltamicron that may render current COVID
> vaccines/monoclonals/medicines/pills no longer effective.
>
> Indeed, I am wonderfully hungry ( http://tinyurl.com/RapidOmicronTest
> ) and hope you, Michael, also have a healthy appetite too.
>
> So how are you ?
>
>
>
I am wonderfully hungry!

Michael Ejercito wrote:
> HeartDoc Andrew, in the Holy Spirit, boldly wrote:
>> Michael Ejercito wrote:
>>
>>> https://archive.ph/60aoK
>>>
>>>
>>> Anger Over Covid Lockdowns Mounts in Shanghai
>>>
>>> Restrictions have strained nerves and livelihoods in China’s largest and
>>> wealthiest city, eroding some residents’ trust in authorities; ‘I’ve
>>> lost confidence in this government’
>>> By Stella Yifan Xie and Natasha Khan
>>> April 15, 2022 12:15 pm ET
>>> Discontent is deepening across Shanghai, China’s largest and wealthiest
>>> city, now several weeks into a rigid lockdown aimed at crushing a Covid
>>> outbreak that is straining the nerves and affecting livelihoods of its
>>> 25 million residents and eroding the public’s trust in authorities.
>>> The effects that have played out in recent weeks—food shortages, lack of
>>> access to medical care, overcrowded quarantine centers and infants
>>> separated from their parents—have frayed nerves across a city that has
>>> long prided itself as a pragmatic financial hub at the forefront of
>>> China’s decadeslong shift to a market economy.
>>> “I’ve lost confidence in this government,” said one 36-year-old Shanghai
>>> native surnamed Chen, who declined to provide his given name because it
>>> remains risky to openly criticize political leaders. “Only during a
>>> crisis can you make a proper evaluation of the government’s performance.”
>>> Mr. Chen, who has been confined at home for more than a month, said he
>>> hasn’t been able to feed his family of four on the government-supplied
>>> rations of vegetables and milk. While he has managed to order some
>>> groceries online, soaring prices and scarce supplies of bread and other
>>> essentials risk draining his savings as the lockdown drags on, he said.
>>> “We’ve waited patiently for the lockdown to get lifted. When will this
>>> end?” he said.
>>> Shanghai eased rules in some neighborhoods this week, but most residents
>>> remain confined to their homes. Some expressed worries about food and
>>> said they are increasingly disillusioned by the prospect of an
>>> open-ended Covid lockdown.
>>> Among more than two dozen residents who spoke from lockdown, some said
>>> they are reaching a breaking point more than two years into the
>>> pandemic. Some are considering leaving the country for good.
>>> “The damage has been done,” said Liu Yun, a 34-year-old Shanghai native
>>> and technology entrepreneur who said he has begun contemplating
>>> emigrating to Singapore while confined at home with his wife and two
>>> children. “More elites will start re-evaluating their relationship with
>>> the city and this country.”
>>> Even those who aren’t considering leaving said they expect some economic
>>> and psychological scars to endure, along with resentment toward Beijing.
>>> China has stuck to a zero-Covid policy under Chinese leader Xi Jinping,
>>> who is widely expected this fall to extend his rule for at least another
>>> five years.
>>> Eighty-seven of China’s biggest 100 cities, from Changchun in the
>>> country’s far northeast to its southern metropolis of Guangzhou,
>>> collectively accounting for more than half of China’s population and
>>> overall economic output, have imposed restrictions on movements and
>>> activities because of the current outbreak, according to an estimate by
>>> Gavekal Dragonomics, a research firm. On Friday, Xi’an, which earlier
>>> this year emerged from a monthlong lockdown, tightened restrictions again.
>>>
>>> Residents lined up for Covid tests in a compound in Shanghai this week.
>>> PHOTO: LIU JIN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
>>> Few cities in China have the economic and political importance of
>>> Shanghai, which for most of the past century has been a base of
>>> prosperity at the forefront of the country’s engagement with the world.
>>> Shanghai has served as a laboratory for many of China’s most important
>>> market reforms. It is home to the world’s largest container port, the
>>> country’s main stock exchange and many of its leading scholars, writers
>>> and artists.
>>> The city has been a crucial steppingstone for generations of China’s
>>> leaders, including Mr. Xi, who was appointed the city’s top party
>>> official in 2007.
>>> Shanghai earlier had a more lenient Covid strategy, using targeted
>>> lockdowns for affected residences, but tightened and extended
>>> restrictions amid a visit by
>>> Sun Chunlan, a vice premier, beginning April 2. Residents see the change
>>> as a sign Beijing demanded full compliance with China’s zero-Covid
>>> policy, which Mr. Xi has touted.
>>> A spokesperson for the Shanghai government didn’t respond to a request
>>> for comment.
>>> Even as Covid cases spread in the city this spring, authorities insisted
>>> that a citywide lockdown wouldn’t be necessary—right up until the day
>>> before the abrupt March 27 announcement of mass lockdown measures that
>>> caught tens of millions of residents unprepared.
>>> That initial lockdown was set to last four days for the eastern half of
>>> the city, then four days for the western half. With case counts still
>>> soaring to new highs, however, authorities then said the lockdown would
>>> be extended indefinitely. Many of those confined to their homes because
>>> of potential contact with Covid cases before the citywide lockdown have
>>> already been kept at home for more than a month, with no clear prospect
>>> of release soon.
>>> Residents said they worry that even after the citywide restrictions are
>>> lifted, the Omicron variant’s transmissibility means sudden lockdowns
>>> and tough tactics could return at any time, casting a cloud of
>>> uncertainty that could last for years.
>>> Since the broad lockdowns began in late March, food shortages have
>>> spread as pandemic measures upended supply chains, leaving some reliant
>>> on bartering and the goodwill of neighbors to survive. Some patients
>>> with non-Covid medical needs have been left to fend for themselves,
>>> while many have resisted being sent to the city’s chaotic and in some
>>> cases unhygienic makeshift quarantine centers.
>>> Shanghai on Thursday reported a record 27,000 new daily infections for
>>> the prior day, bringing the city’s total official caseload since March 1
>>> to more than 220,000 so far. While no deaths have been reported by
>>> authorities, at least three large elderly care hospitals have been
>>> overwhelmed by Covid outbreaks, resulting in patient deaths.
>>> Authorities have been swift to censor people’s complaints and what they
>>> call rumors online. On March 22, two men who shared information about
>>> Shanghai’s coming lockdown were investigated by the police on suspicions
>>> of “spreading fabricated information.” As the lockdown continues, more
>>> people are venting frustration at the Covid restrictions, saying they
>>> are harming people’s livelihoods and straining medical resources,
>>> despite potential repercussions.
>>> In a viral online post, one Shanghai resident complained that the
>>> endurance of residents had “reached its limit,” listing a litany of
>>> tragedies and grievances. “Are there officials who still listen to the
>>> people?” wrote the person, who identified herself only as An Ordinary
>>> Citizen. “How much more do we have to pay in exchange for truly putting
>>> people first?”
>>> The post was blocked on Thursday for a few hours before being restored
>>> that evening. The person didn’t respond to a request for comment.
>>>
>>> Community workers delivered food rations on Tuesday.
>>> PHOTO: ALEX PLAVEVSKI/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
>>> Frank Tsai, a longtime Shanghai resident who hosts business and cultural
>>> events through his company China Crossroads, initially supported the
>>> country’s strict Covid measures, but said he was shocked by the food and
>>> supply bottlenecks in Shanghai, which is widely regarded as one of
>>> China’s most progressive and best-managed cities.
>>> “This regime from its very founding was built on the elimination of
>>> material anxiety, so it’s ironic that food insecurity is happening in
>>> Shanghai of all places,” he said.
>>> People must “firmly hold on to its pandemic policy without wavering,”
>>> China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency said Thursday in an editorial,
>>> calling on the public to “look at the big picture” despite the
>>> hardships. “Persistence is victory,” Mr. Xi was quoted saying.
>>> The People’s Daily, the Communist Party organ, implored citizens to
>>> “grit their teeth” and put their faith in government officials.
>>> Some expatriates said the current lockdown is the final straw after
>>> several years in which they felt China was turning increasingly inward.
>>> “We are at a critical point. People are really fed up,” said Bettina
>>> Schoen-Behanzin, vice president of the European Union Chamber of
>>> Commerce in China.
>>> Mr. Liu, the technology entrepreneur, was first confined to his home
>>> with his wife and two children on March 14, when the entrance to his
>>> residential compound was abruptly sealed after several neighbors were
>>> identified as “close contacts” with infected individuals. Later, the
>>> stringent citywide lockdowns began.
>>>
>>> Li Bing said he worried about what would happen to his cats if he tests
>>> positive.
>>> PHOTO: LI BING
>>> Mr. Liu’s social-media feed became filled with videos and messages of
>>> physical conflicts between residents and health workers tasked with
>>> keeping people at home, making him more anxious and pessimistic.
>>> “I’m afraid that this fight against the pandemic will evolve into some
>>> kind of social movement, where people at the bottom of the society end
>>> up hurting each other,” said Mr. Liu. “That’s terrifying.”
>>> Mr. Liu said he also worries about the roughly 200 employees at the
>>> company he founded 10 years ago, a business-to-business e-commerce
>>> platform, many of whom are struggling to get enough food during the
>>> lockdown. His company, too, is struggling from waning demand that he
>>> attributes in part to the country’s lockdowns.
>>> Li Bing, a 33-year-old employee at a different technology company, said
>>> he felt emotionally weighed down after reading numerous online pleas
>>>from residents struggling to get enough food and medical help. Last
>>> week, a video showing a pandemic prevention worker in a hazmat suit
>>> beating a corgi to death after its owners were sent to a centralized
>>> quarantine center sparked online fury.
>>> “What would happen to my cats? Would they be beaten to death?” said Mr.
>>> Li, a native of Xi’an who has lived in Shanghai for six years with his
>>> girlfriend and two cats. He said the prospect of testing positive for
>>> Covid has stirred his anxiety and made him more eager to leave China
>>> than ever.
>>> “We have witnessed so many humanitarian disasters already,” said Mr. Li.
>>> “I simply want to live as a normal person, with dignity.”
>>
>> The only *healthy* way to stop the pandemic, thereby saving lives, in
>> China & elsewhere is by rapidly ( http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 )
>> finding out at any given moment, including even while on-line, who
>> among us are unwittingly contagious (i.e pre-symptomatic or
>> asymptomatic) in order to http://tinyurl.com/ConvinceItForward (John
>> 15:12) for them to call their doctor and self-quarantine per their
>> doctor in hopes of stopping this pandemic. Thus, we're hoping for the
>> best while preparing for the worse-case scenario of the Alpha lineage
>> mutations and others like the Omicron, Gamma, Beta, Epsilon, Iota,
>> Lambda, Mu & Delta lineage mutations combining via
>> slip-RNA-replication to form hybrids like
>> http://tinyurl.com/Deltamicron that may render current COVID
>> vaccines/monoclonals/medicines/pills no longer effective.
>>
>> Indeed, I am wonderfully hungry ( http://tinyurl.com/RapidOmicronTest
>> ) and hope you, Michael, also have a healthy appetite too.
>>
>> So how are you ?
>>
>>
>
> I am wonderfully hungry!