Locked-in and hungry, Shanghai residents can't complain online

The 25-million-plus residents of the Chinese city of Shanghai are being warned not to spread rumors online or to complain about conditions during ongoing and strict COVID-19 lockdowns imposed since March 28. The Shanghai office of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) warned citizens against spreading misinformation in …

[Anonymous Coward]

Why are we blindly letting this happen?

That is 25m people being subjected to cruel and unnecessary detention by their government.

Many millions more are suffering the same fate in other cities in China.

We in the west but so much rat from China, why are we not pushing sanctions on them to stop this abhorrent behaviour towards their ‘citizens’?

Does the plight of these fellow humans not matter to those of us in the so called ‘west’?

We should not be furthering the economic fortunes of states that do not treat their citizens with basic human rights.

[badflorist]

How bad can it really be when food delivery is a possibility?

"Young people are better off, they can... grab food online."

Also, there's nothing more "West" than the zealous, righteous belief that your own view is the only correct view.

[tiggity]

Re: Why are we blindly letting this happen?

@AC

Given the West did very little with the Uyghur genocide*, then a bit of lockdown won't make them do anything.

*Though, given Uyghurs are mainly Muslims a few leading Western politicians probably got a bit moist at the thought of them being persecuted.

[Not Irrelevant]

Re: Why are we blindly letting this happen?

Primarily, other countries aren't doing anything because it's not an international issue. Countries have the sovereign right to do whatever they want into their own borders. The Ukraine war, for example involves the invasion of one country by another, which is why other countries are taking action.

Internal issues are traditionally dealt with internally. Sure, people may speak out against actions like this, but they're going to go to war, even economic war over them. I think a better question would be why the Chinese people are letting this happen. The Chinese government tries to seem all-powerful, but they're not. They are in fact kept in place by the very people who are being oppressed. Oppressive regimes always collapse under their own weight eventually and this is just hastening that.

[Mark 85]

Re: Why are we blindly letting this happen?

I think a better question would be why the Chinese people are letting this happen.

I believe it goes back to the days of Mao and forcing a compliant population. The people have learned when to speak out and when to stay quiet lest they incure the government's wrath.

As for the rest of the world "letting this happen"? China is huge, really huge and it's population is the largetst. Good luck with trying to push anything at them.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Why are we blindly letting this happen?

they are just a slave race like the english.

[rcxb1]

Re: Why are we blindly letting this happen?

> Countries have the sovereign right to do whatever they want into their own borders.

That's not an absolute by any stretch. Iran, North Korea, Rwanda, Sudan and Bosnia come to mind.

Competing opinions abound:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereignty#Views

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Why are we blindly letting this happen?

Don't forget that "the West" invaded China, and specifically, carved out Shanghai out of it as its own private playground, and you know what it did for its local fellow humans' rights during the time it was in charge?

It made sure they didn't have any.

So having suggestions today about how China should run the place would be nice, but unfortunately, it would also very easily come out as rather hypocritical.

[tip pc]

Re: Why are we blindly letting this happen?

Countries have the sovereign right to do whatever they want into their own borders.

That didn’t apply to countries like Afghanistan or the 2nd Iraq war.

[LosD]

Re: Why are we blindly letting this happen?

Ah, yes. 100 year old events are very relevant today.

I guess Germany has no right to condemn anyone's behaviour today by your standards?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Why are we blindly letting this happen?

When Hong Kong, was ceded back to China, it was 1997 - not 100 years ago. And at the time, locals still were not UK citizens, still didn't have the same rights as UK citizens.

They barely got the right to elect their own government a decade earlier, in the 80s. One can only wonder why the UK waited until the very end of their 150-year long stay to do that, if they're so keen on democracy.

Germany, as it is, is much more aware and apologetic of its past mistakes than the UK or the US are. And I really hope you're not arguing that what happened there will become irrelevant in less than 20 years.

[DS999]

Re: Why are we blindly letting this happen?

People being kept inside for a few weeks hardly compares to what is happening in Ukraine. If anything that happens we "don't like" we'd have sanctions against everyone. And they'd all have sanctions against us. Should the US sanction the EU because they allow women to be topless on their beaches, which the puritanical US believes is wrong? Should the EU sanction the US because of the millions of people left without medical insurance due to its lack of national health care?

In the grand scheme of things, being kept inside for a few weeks is hardly "abhorrent behavior" nor is it "cruel".

[YetAnotherLocksmith]

Re: Why are we blindly letting this happen?

2 years. But what's a little unit error between friends, eh?

[Youngone]

Re: Why are we blindly letting this happen?

Pay attention A/C, "we" don't get a say in what goes on in China.

The vast corporations of the West make way too much money from China to allow sanctions to happen. Not that sanctions do anything useful anyway.

[deadlockvictim]

Re: Why are we blindly letting this happen?

You are welcome not to support the Chinese economy which supports the regime of which you do not approve. This means, amongst other things, not buying anything from China. Good luck with that.

We in Europe felt very aggrieved after the U.S. lashed out in Afghanistan & Iraq (but did nothing to Saudi Arabia) after September 11, 2001. Should we have boycotted American goods & services then? What emanated from the Bush White House horrified us. Was that so very different?

Did the plight of these fellow humans in Afghanistan & Iraq not matter to those of us in the so called ‘west’?

Should we not be furthering the economic fortunes of states that do not treat the citizens of conquered lands with basic human rights? WMD indeed.

[Youngone]

Re: Why are we blindly letting this happen?

Its different when we do it, because we're the good guys, and they're foreign.

[NoneSuch]

"There have allegedly been no deaths."

No deaths from COVID.

How many the Chinese Communist Party are responsible for is a different matter.

[Flywheel]

Re: "There have allegedly been no deaths."

How many the Chinese Communist Party are responsible for is a different matter.

You can google "dead donor rule china github" - that might answer your question...

[Anonymous Coward]

The article omitted to talk about children, even those below the age of 5, being forcibly separated from their parents when they have COVID, and kept in dedicated hospitals, without enough nurses to care for them properly.

When I heard about that from Chinese friends, I found it so heartbreaking, I assumed it was the local government being overzealous and bungling it up, and expected somebody to get sacked and make some public apology.

However, I've since heard it's actually a central government policy that's been forced on the local government, which would point to some level of disagreement and power struggle between the two.