In the past few days, as the number of newly confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia and the number of asymptomatic infections continued to decline, good news finally came from Shanghai.
On May 16, Shanghai Deputy Mayor Zong Ming announced at a press conference that from now on, the normal production and living order in Shanghai will be fully restored in three stages from June 1 to mid-to-late June.
On May 17, Zhao Dandan, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Health and Health Commission, introduced at a press conference that at present, all 16 districts in Shanghai have fully achieved social zero.
This is long-lost good news, which means that Shanghai, which has been under lockdown for more than a month since the start of the lockdown at the end of March, is not far from officially lifting the lockdown and returning to normal life.
Shanghai people have been waiting for this day for a long time.
In the past month or so, the torment and anxiety of Shanghai people have made almost everyone who cares about current affairs feel the same way across the screen.
In the reality that mainland China has not yet had sufficient conditions to ease the epidemic control, the closure of Shanghai is to some extent the self-sacrifice and sacrifice of the people of a city in exchange for greater security for the entire country.
Just as Wuhan, which was closed down more than two years ago, was blocking the eyes of the new crown virus for all Chinese people, the closure of Shanghai is also the way that the Shanghainese are blocking the eyes of the Chinese.
Even though the harm of the new coronavirus today is obviously less than that of more than two years ago, the human society has more scientific understanding of the virus, and vaccines and therapeutic drugs have appeared, but
considering that there are still tens of millions of elderly people in mainland China who have not been fully vaccinated, Many of these elderly people live in remote areas and villages with far less public health conditions and medical resources than Shanghai. They are a high-risk group under the ravages of the new crown virus. The closure of Shanghai has at least brought them more safety.
Therefore, when Shanghai is unblocked, in response to the negative emotions and psychological problems that many Shanghai people may have, whether it is the government or society, they should have more sympathy and understanding, and help Shanghai people return to normal life.
For those small and medium-sized enterprises and ordinary people in Shanghai who were severely impacted during the lockdown, the government should especially lend a helping hand in a timely manner.
Because for a community, when some of the people make significant contributions for the overall security and interests of the community, they should receive compensation from the community. Only in this way can the community unite people.
Epidemic|Shanghai Announces: All 16 Districts of the City Have Realized Social Clearance recover
In the past two years before the closure of the city, Shanghai has been a model student of epidemic prevention in mainland China. The precise epidemic prevention that Shanghai advocates "catch mice in ceramic shops" can be regarded as a clear stream of epidemic prevention, and has won the recognition of many people.
This is precisely the reason why the cultural phenomenon of "Shanghai Blowing" has become popular in the public opinion field in mainland China in recent years.
But what I didn't expect is that the city closure for more than a month has not only caused Shanghai to suffer huge economic and social development losses, but also changed the world's perception of Shanghai. Many people have a mixed feeling when they talk about Shanghai. The hard-earned good reputation is greatly reduced.
Because of this, when Shanghai is about to unblock it, summarizing the lessons learned during the closure of Shanghai has practical significance for the future selection of epidemic prevention models in Shanghai and even the entire Chinese mainland.
First, we cannot help but reflect on why there were so many chaos and problems during the closure of the city in Shanghai?
At the beginning of Shanghai's decision to block the Yangtze River in late March, it had clearly stated that it would maintain the normal operation of basic public services for people's livelihood and the citizens' emergency medical needs, but as a result, a considerable number of Shanghainese suffered from hunger they had never encountered in their lives. At any time, they are short of food and vegetables, and living materials and daily necessities are in short supply, and they continue to ask for help online.
What is even more distressing is that since the closure of the city for more than a month, many non-COVID-19 patients have unfortunately passed away due to their failure to seek medical treatment in time. The online messages of their relatives were once described by many people as the Wailing Wall. weeping.
Why is Shanghai like this?
On April 5, 2022, in a community in Yangpu District, which is under closed control and management, a volunteer helps residents to deliver daily necessities by express delivery to achieve contactless service.
(Visual China)
For a long time, Shanghai has been one of the most modern cities in mainland China, the economic center and the leading brother of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai.
When similar chaos occurred in Xi'an a few months ago, many people on the Internet in mainland China used Shanghai as a positive example and role model to spur Xi'an. less than.
Why are two cities with a considerable gap in the degree of governance modernization, the chaos and problems that appear after the transition to the closed city model are similar?
Is this because the fragility of big cities determines that once big cities are turned into lockdown mode, there will be many problems, or is it because of insufficient governance capacity?
If it is the former, it means that any city will inevitably encounter a lot of problems. If it is the latter, why is Shanghai not significantly better than Xi'an?
To what extent does Shanghai's governance capabilities need to be modernized to avoid these chaos?
There is no doubt that Shanghai's governance capacity is obviously insufficient, as exemplified by the bureaucracy, formalism and chaos in some closed-off areas during the closure of the city.
However, it is difficult to fully explain the chaos in Shanghai if only from the perspective of governance capacity.
At present, the closure of Shanghai has exposed so many problems not only because of the fragility of the big city, but also because of the lack of governance capacity.
For the former, all parts of mainland China should take a warning, not rashly lock down the city, and have a clear understanding of the huge difficulties faced by the city.
Just imagine, there are so many problems even when such a modern Shanghai suddenly turns into a closed city mode, let alone a city whose governance capacity and economic development are far less than that of Shanghai?
For the latter, mainland China should seek to modernize its governance system and governance capabilities.
The emotions of the Shanghai people need an outlet, and the Chinese people need an expectation and confidence based on scientific explanations for the epidemic.
Second, what needs to be reflected urgently is how long can the model of epidemic prevention by taking turns locking down cities last?
Should mainland China reflect on the huge cost and cost of Shanghai's closure, cherish the precious time window gained by the current strict epidemic prevention, constantly optimize epidemic prevention strategies and paths, and prepare for the opening to the world and people's life returning to normal sooner or later?
The closure of Shanghai has had a huge economic impact on Shanghai and the entire country.
Shanghai is not only the largest city in China, but also a collection of upstream and downstream industrial chains. It is the core city in mainland China facing the world.
Not long after the closure of Shanghai this time, news quickly spread across many industrial chains in the mainland that they were hit to varying degrees.
In the past April, it is not an exception to areas in mainland China that have adopted closures and controls like Shanghai. Many places have in fact adopted measures to close or semi-close cities in order to prevent and control the epidemic.
On May 16, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the national fixed asset investment (excluding rural households) fell by 0.82% month-on-month, the total retail sales of consumer goods fell by 11.1% year-on-year, and the national industrial added value above designated size fell by 2.9% year-on-year. Great impact on economic operation.
This is still at the data level. Judging from the personal feelings of many people at the specific social level, their expectations for the economy have become relatively negative.
Shanghai Automobile Association: April sales are "zeroed", dealers' capital chain is at risk of breaking down China's economy is under short-term downward pressure. Official media: It is worth studying the direct payment of money to low- and middle-income residents. From the defense of Wuhan to the defense of Shanghai, the mentality of mainland people Change
No one can be sure when the new coronavirus will stay away from human beings, but what is certain is that the longer the mode of epidemic prevention by locking cities in turn, the greater the impact on people's normal life and economic and social development, and the people's patience will continue to be affected. to kill.
The author once wrote that Chinese people have a sense of community and are willing to cooperate with government policies and give up some personal interests and freedoms, but this is conditional and limited. The rotation of the lockdown and control in various places that lasted for more than two years has made many people invisible to the epidemic. In the end, there is no hope for the future.
Especially those small, medium and micro enterprises and ordinary people who make a living outside the system, their income cannot be guaranteed by drought or flood. Once they encounter the epidemic control, they are likely to stop.
When the new crown epidemic just broke out more than two years ago, when the virus was the most virulent, and the human society was very lacking in understanding of it, China decided to close the city of Wuhan decisively, and successfully controlled the epidemic with the self-sacrifice and dedication of Wuhan people.
This was a tragic and remarkable achievement in epidemic prevention at the time.
However, at a time when the toxicity of the new coronavirus has been significantly weakened and the spread is stronger, vaccines and therapeutic drugs have appeared, and many countries and regions have returned to normal life
, the mentality of the people in mainland China has changed, and they increasingly hope that the country can optimize Current epidemic prevention mode.
Not long ago, the five-point proposal on reopening in China during the coming new crown period, written by Academician Zhong Nanshan, conforms to such new changes in public opinion and the virus
, and deserves the attention of the Chinese mainland society and government.
People often say that eating a moat makes you wiser.
The French writer Albert Camus wrote in his masterpiece "The Plague" that knowledge and memory are "the greatest lessons and experience a disaster can give people", "We should not easily let go of the pain and suffering we have experienced in governance. The lesson is to try to avoid the next disaster when it happens, instead of repeating the same mistakes again and again.”
The closure of Shanghai this time has suffered a considerable impact, both in terms of economic and social development and in terms of people's hearts.
In the face of such a profound lesson, it is time for mainland China to consider optimizing the epidemic prevention model as soon as possible with reference to the new characteristics and new situation of global epidemic prevention, and get rid of the path dependence of epidemic prevention by rotating cities.