Quote:
Originally Posted by activeStick
I actually think it's a numbers thing. We need to remember the population in China is ridiculously huge. If they just let it be, we're looking at their government essentially saying it's okay with them if 1.5M of their people die. The CPC isn't as evil and ruthless as some in the west believe. Projections also that ICU admissions would increase by 15X. Like the situation we found ourselves in when people were getting surgeries and treatments cancelled to make room for covid patients, it's not a fun outlook for the healthcare system to have to plan for or the actual people affected by not getting the care they need.
https://twitter.com/user/status/1524050859054616576
There's really no easy answer here in my opinion at least. I believe China has done way better than the west for the first 2 years or so because they've prevented the kind of deaths we've seen in the west but obviously it came at a cost which is right now, Chinese in China have had enough of this ####. I am of the opinion China will need to stop with this covid zero stuff but I also believe once they do, there's going to be a lot of deaths. For me this reality is sad as I have family there and I'm also ethnically Chinese and feel close to that country and the people despite me being a proud, born and raised Canadian. |
Agreed. Of course the government will be concerned about public perception of the their stewardship of society through the pandemic, but just look at the stats in a place like Taiwan to see what the spike in infections per day and death rate looks like when somewhere comes out of zero covid measures. China has no doubt saved millions of lives with zero covid so far, but they would still face huge numbers of people getting seriously ill or dying by giving up after what has already been a long period of public sacrifice.
In China the social contract is quite different as there is a more Confucian understanding of the state having a paternalistic role in ensuring well-being of the people by setting good rules and ensuring order, even if that doesn't really make people happy at the time. Unlike a Western context where government is more expected to regulate with minimal intrusion on individual liberties, transfer of risk to the individual isn't so easy in the Chinese scenario. Legitimacy in Chinese government roles depends upon trust in ensuring well-being in the long run rather than just right now. The problem is they're under circumstances in which maintaining zero covid and opening up are both options that present serious problems for well-being, short-term and long-term.
My hope is that we'll see some kind of compromise where the government will announce conditions or a timeline for reopening, or they will devolve some more authority to provincial governments along with targets for them to meet in loosening restrictions as they ramp up more capacity in the health system and vaccination among the elderly so they can navigate the situation with minimal harm to people's health, the economy, and social well-being.