I am in Wuhan. Today marks the 44th day of the city's lockdown.
Last night, I saw a video of Vice Premier Sun Chunlan inspecting the Qing Shan Kai Yuan Mansion residential area. Many people were shouting, "It's fake, it's fake," without feeling surprised. Chinese people have a tradition of listening to opera and deriving lessons from it. In their daily lives, when they feel wronged, such as being bullied by officials or the privileged, and they have no way to appeal, they always feel that the local bureaucrats are corrupt and evil. They hope for the arrival of a high-ranking official who can resolve all issues and shout, "Sir, the common people have grievances." It is an act of helplessness.
Thinking about it the other way around, this mentality also makes sense. The system is bloated, and there are too many people in positions of power who only listen to the voices of the controlled media. The other voices have been suppressed for too long and can be ignored. Once they suddenly appear, the listeners either become extremely excited or bewildered.
So when the people in Kai Yuan residential area shouted, "It's fake, it's fake," I vaguely thought it was a disguised way of saying, "Sir, the common people have grievances." In fact, as early as January 27th, I called for not playing games like turning off the lights and shouting, "Wuhan, come on!" Instead, I suggested shouting together to the whole world, "Save Wuhan!" On January 27th, Premier Li came to Wuhan for an inspection, and shouting "Wuhan, come on!" created a certain atmosphere. The organizers knew it, but those who followed and sang songs in the dark may not have understood.
Now that the situation has improved, it is surprising to suddenly hear shouts of "It's fake, it's fake" during Vice Premier Sun's inspection. Or in other words, Wuhan does need such an incident to occur. Moreover, it happened during Vice Premier Sun's inspection - the timing, rhythm, and control were seamless and impeccable. The video was shot from multiple angles and buildings. Whether it was organized or implied is unknown. But today, a well-edited version has been released, and the powerful media's propaganda efforts are admirable. I have read several mainstream public accounts, and the direction of public opinion is very clear - some places indeed did not do a good job, but what is worth praising is that the public is allowed to voice their opinions. The Premier listens and immediately holds a meeting to resolve the issues. The meeting has already been held.
There is nothing surprising about it; it is all within the budget. No leaders have been trained or held accountable. Everything is as calm as before. So I can only guess that the incident in Kai Yuan residential area is understood as an appropriate arrangement, an appropriate performance, and a proper manifestation of the emotions of the people of Wuhan. The few shouts of "It's fake, it's fake" have eased the tension and anxiety in the entire city.
Perhaps, this is just a small game at the management level. In China, everything can be a game. Perhaps, we expect too much for the voices of the people to reach the heavens, just like the stories in those mythical novels, where the Jade Emperor looks down from the clouds and says, "Oh, so this is how the human world is." It is just a game. When I woke up in the afternoon and looked at my phone, I saw that the whole screen was filled with references to the game - taking a photo of the sunset is a game, organizing a donation activity is a game, allowing you to speak is a game, telling you to shut up is a game, and even stopping and waving goodbye to you is a game.
I have always said that there are already paths in the world, but when too many people walk on them, the paths disappear. Only those who have survived in disaster-stricken areas can deeply understand this. In other words, it is called "surviving a great disaster." Death is not a matter of probability for each individual. With 10 million people in Wuhan, each separated in their own homes, shouting "It's fake, it's fake" a few times is harmless. It is similar to the spirit of turning off the lights and singing during the previous two times when Wuhan was in lockdown. It is just a new version of "blocking the sedan chair and petitioning for justice." When I saw Vice Premier Sun's speech being released on major online platforms today, with righteous words and caring attention, and the overwhelming support and praise from various WeChat public accounts, I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
In the 21st century, it is not a big deal for the Chinese people in the disaster-stricken area to secretly shout "It's fake, it's fake." In fact, it is no different from the core values of those who shout "Come on, come on" during a catastrophe. It is just a matter of giving you a sweet taste, while others think that the sweet taste is just a gimmick. Both are expressions of a weak and pathological state. In my opinion, if we cannot break free from the mindset of beating drums, blocking sedan chairs, and petitioning for justice at the spiritual level, this disaster we are facing will continue to have far-reaching and lasting effects.
The afternoon sun is still warm, shining on the street corner. I went downstairs alone and took a walk, thinking about the conversation I had with Yu Zecheng yesterday under the plum tree about when Wuhan's lockdown would be lifted. I secretly speculated that it would be difficult to relax the restrictions in the disaster-stricken area in the short term.
Yu Zecheng estimated that the lifting of the lockdown in Wuhan would not be on a specific date. For a mega-city with a population of tens of millions, a precise timeline for lifting the lockdown does not have effective control and operability. For example, it is likely that the restrictions will be gradually lifted in different districts, starting with the relaxation of delivery services and logistics, followed by staggered reopening of large enterprises. He cited the example of the SARS outbreak 17 years ago, emphasizing that IT companies were the first to reopen, followed by commercial institutions, gradual resumption of transportation, and finally the restaurant industry. Yu Zecheng stood with his hands on his waist, trying to sound casual, "It may not be until the end of April that universities and colleges in Wuchang can resume classes..."
I don't completely agree with his predicted "lifting" timetable. The epidemic in Wuhan has paralyzed the city due to the overwhelming number of cases. This has become a fixed pattern in our thinking. I speculate that the initial expression of relaxation and freedom will start with the gradual lifting of residential area restrictions, which is the first step in restoring the normal life order for ordinary people. At the same time, the government will continue to restrict the flow of people based on epidemic data and public opinion control. The most likely scenario is to pilot the lifting of restrictions in areas with lighter outbreaks, such as Han Yang, Wuhan, and Han Kou. The length of the pilot period will be measured according to the duration of the highest level of epidemic prevention.
"What do you think about restaurants and entertainment venues?" I asked Yu Zecheng, "When can they reopen?" Yu Zecheng took a deep breath and said, "That may not happen until the second half of the year..." Of course, there is also another possibility, I told him, "Restaurants can still open, but only for takeout. This can continue for a period of time before they can officially reopen." Yu Zecheng smiled bitterly and said, "Even if they open now, how many people would dare to go and eat?"
What he said makes sense. Cautious people certainly wouldn't go to restaurants to eat. But with the resilient and stubborn nature of the people of Wuhan, after a major disaster, no matter which restaurant you open, they will line up every day to enjoy it to the fullest. Otherwise, it would be a waste of these two months of self-imprisonment. I patiently explained to him what the people of Wuhan are like, and Yu Zecheng listened by the fountain, unable to comprehend.
When the lockdown was half a month old, I conducted a field survey on my social media: What is the first thing you want to do after the lockdown is lifted? Over 70% of people answered that they wanted to have a big meal and drink with friends. About 10% answered that they wanted to travel, 10% said they wanted to continue staying at home, and 10% said other things.
"Other" probably includes visiting parents, getting a haircut, or going shopping, watching movies, and of course, being with loved ones.
2020/3/7
The situation in Wuhan is gradually improving, and it is time to prepare to end the updates on the epidemic. Of course, it will not stop immediately. I will continue to track and write about it here, and I will also revise and adjust the previous forty or so articles as soon as possible to share with everyone.
Thank you to my friends for their care and support for Wuhan. Because of you, Wuhan can continue to be Wuhan.
Copyright Notice: This work belongs to the original author. This website only archives the original work for the convenience of the general public.
This article was automatically generated and translated from Chinese.