Shanghai residents speak out against China's zero COVID strategy

Shanghai residents speak out against China's zero COVID strategy

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez talks to Don Weinland of The Economist², about life in Shanghai in the midst of draconian³ lockdown measures that have lasted more than a month to try to stop the spread of COVID-19.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Shanghai residents have been unusually outspoken⁴ about their anger and worries over China's zero COVID strategy. An almost-total lockdown is now stretching into its second month there. And it's something Don Weinland is navigating⁵. He's the China business and finance editor for The Economist.

Don, welcome.

DON WEINLAND: Hello.

MART?NEZ: Can you describe what you're experiencing in Shanghai right now?

WEINLAND: Yeah, sure. So I've been locked inside my hotel room for, I guess, approaching about 50 days now. And, you know, a lot of the city is shut in their homes. It's been difficult to get food at times, especially during the beginning. But yeah - and we still don't know when this is going to end.

MART?NEZ: Have you been alone in your room all this time?

WEINLAND: No. Fortunately, my wife is here with me.

MART?NEZ: OK. How has this lockdown changed daily life for people there in Shanghai?

WEINLAND: Well, I mean, as you can imagine, you know, this is one of the world's biggest cities. And basically, everybody has been locked inside for at least a month. So yeah - I mean, the streets are very empty. Restaurants and shops are closed. You know, all the large buildings in the city are, you know, not active. So yeah - I mean, it's a huge change to normal life.

MART?NEZ: How often do you get to go outside, if at all?

WEINLAND: I go outside about once a day - downstairs to take a PCR test. But that's about it.

MART?NEZ: Now, does that mean you're leaving your hotel or just leaving your room?

WEINLAND: Leaving the hotel.

MART?NEZ: OK.

WEINLAND: So the PCR test is done next door. And I walk downstairs, do the test. I can kind of sneak⁶ around and stroll around on a neighboring street and then head back to my hotel.

MART?NEZ: So in those instances when you have been able to sneak out, what's some of the weirdest⁷ or most unusual things you've seen?

WEINLAND: Well, I mean - so the health workers here generally dress in white hazmat suits. So, you know, as you're strolling around here, you know, the streets are empty, except for often long lines of these workers in white. So yeah, that's a very odd thing to see coming down the street - you know, a line of 20 people in white hazmat suits.

MART?NEZ: And what about cars on the road? Is it one of those things where it feels deserted⁸, like it's some kind of apocalypse movie or something like that?

WEINLAND: It does feel like that sometimes. Looking out my window, I can see a freeway. And the traffic on the freeway has picked up recently. But if you're on - if you're downstairs on a normal road - I mean, they are very, very empty right now. So it does feel very strange.

MART?NEZ: Some footage out of Shanghai has included images of people pushing back on these measures and literally⁹ kicking at barriers. I mean, is that surprising to you? Have you seen any of that?

WEINLAND: I haven't seen any of that with my own eyes. I've seen plenty of footage of it on social media. I'm not really that surprised, to be honest. I mean, I - you know, people have their limits here, just like anywhere else. And yeah, I mean, when somebody gets boxed in to their home with a, you know, a metal gate or a fence, I'm not terribly surprised to see people kicking them down.

MART?NEZ: And how is this lockdown, you think, maybe fueling dissent¹⁰ there in Shanghai? I mean, I can imagine just that eventually people break. I mean, they have to, right?

WEINLAND: Yes. I mean, a lot of the anger has been over, you know, mistakes that the government has made. In the early days, it was very hard to get food. And I think a lot of people in the city were struggling to get even basic vegetables. So yeah, people were very angry about that. There's been a lot of, you know, stuff circulating online where you have these health workers sometimes beating people up. And yeah, that has made people very angry as well.

MART?NEZ: Do you have any sense, Don, of what overall impact the COVID crisis in China is having on government authority there?

WEINLAND: Well, you know, it's - the way that the system is built - I mean, I think there's certainly - this problem is undermining the local government here in Shanghai, without a doubt. So, you know, we'll see over the next month or so whether or not any officials here get punished for what's going on. In terms of the, you know, the central government, I don't think it's going to have much of an impact on those people in Beijing.

MART?NEZ: And is it actually working? Is this lockdown actually working? Is Shanghai seeing a drop in cases?

WEINLAND: It is, actually. Cases have come down quite significantly just over the past couple days. Hopefully, we'll be out soon.

MART?NEZ: And Shanghai's a major city. I mean, how do you think it comes back from being locked down for so long, even economically?

WEINLAND: Yeah, it's an interesting question. I mean, if you just think about, you know, say, all the small businesses and restaurants around the city, you know, their staff have been out of work for weeks. The owners have - you know, maybe they've not been able to pay the rent. You know, there's kind of a chain effect of payments that will ripple¹¹ across the city - really already is. So yeah, that's a huge problem.

MART?NEZ: Don Weinland is the China business and finance editor for The Economist.

Don, thanks a lot.

WEINLAND: Thanks.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

3 draconian   

adj.严苛的；苛刻的；严酷的；龙一样的

参考例句：

• You can't expect the people to obey such draconian regulations.你不能指望人民服从如此严苛的规定。
• The city needs a draconian way of dealing with robbers.这个城市需要一个严苛的办法来对付强盗。

4 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

5 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

6 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

7 weirdest   

怪诞的( weird的最高级 )； 神秘而可怕的； 超然的； 古怪的

参考例句：

• Think of the weirdest, craziest shit you'd like to see chicks do. 想想这最怪异，最疯狂的屁事。你会喜欢看这些鸡巴表演的。
• It's still the weirdest damn sound I ever heard out of a Jersey boy. 这是我所听过新泽西人最为怪异的音调了。

8 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

9 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

10 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

11 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。