China’s Covid lockdown plight is the result of putting policy before people

At the start of the pandemic, China won praise for its seeming ability to unite the public behind its contagion-fighting measures

But after three years of unrelenting lockdowns and a string of tragedies, that facade has fallen to reveal a policy that risks undermining human rights

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A worker in protective gear at a neighborhood placed under lockdown in Beijing on November 21. Photo: Bloomberg

Yue Parkinson

Yue Parkinson is a freelance writer and bilingual author who combines Chinese and Western empathy and know-how.

Published: 3:30am, 7 Dec 2022Updated: 4:10am, 7 Dec 2022

A Chinese friend here in the UK told me she has been in a heavy mood lately. “No Chinese person with a conscience can avoid what is happening in China,” she said, then added: “When I compare the Covid-19 lockdowns here and there, I finally know what democracy is.”

It is indeed difficult for first-generation Chinese living overseas to understand what democracy is. Our thinking is at least 100 years behind that of contemporary British people. We mostly aspire to the acquisition of money and power, and are unable to see the new political trend of the 21st century in Britain: the pursuit of equality between all races, genders and classes.

Once, my understanding of democracy was limited to elections and voting, plus the “welfare system that keeps Westerners lazy” because “political parties buy votes with money”, as reported by the Chinese news channels. It was after watching the BBC news that my view finally changed.