Shanghai (China)
As China Doubles Down on Lockdowns, Some Chinese Seek an Exit
Clara Xie had long wondered whether she might leave China one day. She chafed at the country’s censorship regime, and as a lesbian, she wanted to live in a country more accepting of same-sex relationships. Still, the idea felt distant — she was young, and didn’t even know which country she would choose. The coronavirus, […]
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Inside China’s Zero-Covid Fortress, Xi Admits No Doubts
China’s leader, Xi Jinping, waved at crowds of giddily cheering students. He held meetings with Olympic Games officials, economic policymakers and European leaders. He toured a tropical island. But there was a revealing gap in Mr. Xi’s busy itinerary last month, exposing the predicament that Covid is creating in a politically crucial year when he […]
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China’s Covid Lockdown Outrage Tests Limits of Propaganda
Immediately after Beijing said it had detected a new coronavirus outbreak, officials hurried to assure residents there was no reason to panic. Food was plentiful, they said, and any lockdown measures would be smooth. But Evelyn Zheng, a freelance writer in the city, was not taking any chances. Her relatives, who lived in Shanghai, were […]
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China’s ‘Zero Covid’ Mess Proves Autocracy Hurts Everyone
After the city locked down its 25 million residents and grounded most delivery services in early April, many people encountered problems sourcing food, regardless of their socioeconomic status. Some set alarms for the different restocking times of grocery delivery apps that start as early as 6 a.m. Updated April 13, 2022, 7:10 p.m. ET In […]
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From the U.S. to China: A 3-Month Quarantine Horror Story
Before boarding his flight from Los Angeles to the Chinese city of Guangzhou, Xue Liangquan, a California-based lawyer, knew he was in for a bit of a headache. To visit his parents in eastern Shandong Province in January, for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, Mr. Xue, 37, had already shelled out $7,600 […]
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Lockdowns Spread in China as Covid Cases Surge in Shanghai and Other Areas
BEIJING — Cinemas, theaters and museums have closed in downtown Shanghai, and tickets have been refunded. The vast city’s school system announced late Friday that it would switch to online learning. And across China, more than 100 neighborhoods have been labeled medium-risk or high-risk Covid zones, with frequent mandatory testing and partial or complete lockdowns. […]
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China Holds the Line on ‘Zero Covid,’ but Some Wonder for How Long
In a glitzy Shanghai shopping district, about 40 people who happened to be at a Uniqlo store were informed that they would be spending the night there. A suspected Covid case had been traced to the shop. Elsewhere in the same city, Anna Rudashko was told to return to an office building she had visited […]
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