Editor’s Note for Monday, November 21, 2022
A note for Access newsletter readers from Jeremy Goldkorn.
Dear reader,
One day it’s fine and next it’s not. Will China’s COVID paranoia stay or will it go?
That’s the question much of the world is asking. As are many Chinese people suffering lockdowns while they watch the World Cup in Qatar — where stadiums are packed with people who are not wearing face masks but are sitting cheek-by-jowl, as they cheer for their favorite teams and expel particles from the depths of their lungs.
Yesterday, shortly after the opening ceremony of the World Cup was broadcast live around the world, a video went viral on WeChat that had scenes of enormous face mask-less crowds there, accompanied by an exaggerated sarcastic voiceover of a woman with a strong Chengdu accent shouting:
Why aren’t you wearing face masks! Aaaaarrgghhh!
The original video seems to have been wiped from WeChat, but some reaction videos have made their way to Youtube. There will be more of this kind of stuff in the months to come.
Our word of the day is paranoia (妄想症 wàngxiǎng zhèng).
The China Project is hiring a senior WordPress engineer.
Upcoming event on December 7, moderated by me: After the Biden-Xi handshake: Is U.S.-China climate collaboration about to heat back up? I am not optimistic, but I’ll talk to some people who may have sunnier views.
