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The 26 million residents of Shanghai have been dealing with strict lockdown conditions since late March due to China’s zero-Covid strategy. Given little warning or time to prepare provisions, residents have had to rely on meagre rations supplied by authorities, and Shanghaiers on the streets have clashed with hazmat-suited police nicknamed the “big whites”.
As a result of the escalating tension, China’s system of censorship is struggling to cope with the onslaught of online complaints from residents.
James Griffiths is the Asia correspondent for The Globe and Mail, based in Hong Kong. His latest book is The Great Firewall of China: How to Build and Control an Alternative Version of the Internet.
A worker in Shanghai drags a cart of trash through the deserted streets. Photo: AFP