Protests in Shanghai reveal public mistrust of 'zero Covid'

At about noon last Tuesday, Yu Wenming, an 82-year-old man in Shanghai, A called his local residential committee for help.

- Vincent Ni

A volunteer speaks to locked-down residents in Shanghai

“I've used up my medicines. Nor do I have anything to eat. I'm feeling awful,” Yu, who had tested positive for Covid, told the party secretary, Zhang Zhen.

Zhang said he had already referred the case to his superiors and there was nothing he could do. “Do you mean I should just wait here until I die, then?” Yu asked. Zhang responded with an angry rant, complaining that he, too, was completely powerless in this situation: "I'm worried too ... But there's nothing we can do...”

Zhang revealed calls for help had been piling up but that his superiors were not dealing with them. “Perhaps one day, when I cannot put up with it, I'll quit. Will this day come soon?”

In economic terms, the equivalent of 40% of China's gross domestic product is estimated to be under some form of lockdown. In Shanghai, a fortnight of confinement has produced a sense of hopelessness and desperation among its 25 million residents.

Food shortages have forced some residents to resort to bartering. A barrage of criticism of the authorities' response to the crisis has left the internet censors unable to keep up.