How public anger over Shanghai lockdown threatens China’s zero-Covid campaign

Despite government efforts to censor information as Shanghai’s lockdown enters a fourth week, some citizens are finding ways to broadcast human rights violations by the authorities, reports William Yang

Community volunteers wearing personal protective equipment guide residents queuing to get tested for Covid during lockdown in Pudong district in Shanghai on April 17, 2022 (AFP via Getty Images)

As Shanghai‘s Covid lockdown enters its fourth week, complaints from frustrated citizens and stark accounts of human rights violations continue to dominate the headlines.

For many residents in China’s biggest and most affluent city, the last month feels like the accelerated decline of a metropolis that has long been viewed by many as perhaps the most liberal place in a country that has a notorious reputation globally over its human rights record.

For weeks, Shanghai has tried to contain the worst local outbreak of coronavirus in more than two years.