"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 is the most important thing, and the propaganda power of the media far surpasses that of science and common sense. Even the Soviet joke about a blank piece of paper has happened around us...
Lockdown, Human Rights#
Earlier 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?). As a result, the day before I was supposed to leave, when I received a call from the community telling 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 for dynamic elimination? It's just a number. I think it's all caused by a system similar to a company's KPI system, which is ultimately about interests.
This decentralization of power has finally made the most transparent group in China - the neighborhood committee - raise their heads. For the past few decades, this group has given people the impression that they are dispensable, and sometimes even annoying (with various home visits, etc.). But now, things are different. They have more power, they have a say, they can control a person's freedom with a single word, and they can use various reasons to keep pressing until you submit. They must have suddenly felt the feeling of the Chinese people standing up, which has led to various disasters across 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 power 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 can do whatever it takes to achieve their KPI (which is to eliminate cases), and the higher-ups don't care 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 dynamic elimination, but have not provided any direction, which allows local governments to come up with endless ways to meet the targets. With the cooperation of the media in creating information asymmetry, they can easily appease the local people to accept inhumane measures.
Vaccines, Nucleic Acid Testing#
On December 3rd, 4th, and 5th, many places in the country announced that they would no longer require nucleic acid testing and lockdowns. On December 7th, the New Ten Measures were released, which was a sudden brake, a complete turn. Life will return to 2020. Opening up is inevitable, but the timing seems rushed and disorganized (it's all about money, after all). Vaccines are not widely available, mRNA has not been introduced, and makeshift hospitals have been built, but the people who need protection have not been protected, and the level of medical care 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. After the opening up, there will likely be a small wave of medical overcrowding in the next month or two, which will test the effectiveness of domestic vaccines. So when can mRNA be introduced? When can Chinese people get the Comirnaty vaccine?
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 not to ordinary people. Prior to 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 epidemic. I wonder why they didn't borrow more this time? And by the way, they should shut down the nucleic acid testing companies.
Duolingo, Airbnb, Samsung have all withdrawn from the mainland, and even Apple is accelerating the relocation of its manufacturing out of China...
The Future#
In terms of the epidemic, there will definitely be a wave of peaks in the next month or two, so personal protection should be taken seriously. But what is most worrying is whether the enthusiasts for epidemic prevention and lockdown will start criticizing the policy of opening up, sacrificing the students who held up blank papers at that time (and claiming that it was the work of foreign forces). Hopefully, this kind of thing won't happen, because in this environment, those students are the truly brave ones.
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 a rise in CPI. However, it will be difficult to restore consumer spending power, no matter how much stimulus is given, because money is not directly distributed.
"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 emanating 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 opening up, and the number of people infected around me has clearly 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 medicine for one person, but I can't buy a thermometer, and the medicine was sent to me by my family. During this time, I have also seen some people starting to miss the days when they had to do nucleic acid testing every day, which is really ridiculous.
However, not being able to buy medicine is comparable to not being able to buy vegetables. It's the same routine - always start with debunking rumors, then release information, and finally there's a shortage of supplies/medical care. Why don't these people ever do any preparation work? When there's a lockdown, you can't buy vegetables; when there's an opening up, you can't buy medicine. Why do they keep repeating their failed homework?
With this kind of grass-roots leadership, what can they possibly do well? They are just sucking people's blood.
"If you can attack the enemy's mind, their resistance will crumble. Throughout history, it is known that war is not a good thing. If you don't understand the situation, both leniency and strictness will lead to mistakes. To govern Sichuan in the future, one must think deeply."