Parents have organized petitions, imploring the government not to separate children infected with the coronavirus from their families. Patients have demanded to speak with higher-ups about shoddy conditions at isolation facilities. Residents have confronted officials over containment policies that they see as unfair or inhumane, then shared recordings of those arguments online.<\/p>\n
As the coronavirus races through Shanghai, in the city\u2019s worst outbreak<\/a> since the pandemic began, the authorities have deployed their usual hard-nosed playbook to try and stamp out transmission, no matter the cost. What has been different is the response: an outpouring of public dissatisfaction rarely seen in China since the chaotic early days of the pandemic, in Wuhan.<\/p>\n The crisis in Shanghai is shaping up to be more than just a public health challenge. It is also a political test of the zero tolerance approach<\/a> at large, on which the Communist Party has staked its legitimacy.<\/p>\n For much of the past two years, the Chinese government has stifled most domestic criticism<\/a> of its zero tolerance<\/a> Covid strategy, through a mixture of censorship, arrests<\/a> and success at keeping caseloads low<\/a>. But in Shanghai, which has recorded more than 70,000 cases since March 1, that is proving more difficult.<\/p>\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n China has deployed its usual Covid playbook in Shanghai, chasing elimination at any cost. But Shanghai \u2014 the country\u2019s most populous city, with a thriving middle class \u2014 has proved unusually resistant. https:\/\/t.co\/2zSsKa6KIc<\/a><\/p>\n — New York Times World (@nytimesworld) April 7, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n