The Economist - UK (2022-03-26)

TheEconomistMarch26th 2022 China 55

I

n 1993 , after 14 yearsofimprison­

ment,oneofChina’smostprominent

dissidents,WeiJingsheng,wastakenon

a tourofBeijing.Authoritieshopedthat

thedazzlingnewarchitectureandbus­

tlingroadswouldconvincehimthatthe

CommunistPartyhesostubbornlyop­

posedhaddonegreatthings.MrWei

admittedtobeingimpressed,butasked

toseea bookshopbeforedrawingany

firmconclusions.

His tour guides obliged, and later he

recounted his “eye­opening” visit. Chi­

nese bookshops remained too conserva­

tive, he wrote. They were managed by old

officials who didn’t even like books and

displayed staid party literature. Bu­

reaucrats would “rather build tall sky­

scrapers and purchase fancy limousines

than...allow the book and culture mar­

kets to really open up,” wrote Mr Wei.

Some of China’s state­run stores

remain the kind of dull, dusty places

described by Mr Wei. Others have

spruced up nicely, though. China also

now has thousands of independent

bookstores, serving coffee and tea and

hosting events. 

But like their counterparts elsewhere,

China’s bricks­and­mortar bookshops

are struggling. Their share of book sales

declined from 85% to 20% between 2010

and 2020. Online sellers are luring book­

worms out of bookshops. In a survey

published in November, 80% of book­

shop­owners said revenues were falling. 

Chinese proprietors have unique

problems, too. Only titles that have been

cleared by state censors can be placed on

shelves.Eventhehippestshopsfeel

compelledtodisplaytheponderous

worksofXiJinping,China’sleader.At­

temptsatedginesscarryrisks.InFebru­

arya bookstoreinthecityofHangzhou

featuredworksrelatedtothewell­known

caseofa traffickedwomanfound

chainedbytheneckina villageout­

house.Thedisplay,withbooksabout

feminism,wasdecoratedwitha metre­

longmetalchain.Buttheauthorities

deemed it too controversial, and the

store took it down after a few days.

Some sellers are finding other ways to

attract potential customers. Bookshops

have become a popular destination for

Chinese internet celebrities, known as

wanghong, and those who aspire to such

heights. In pursuit of followers, clicks,

sponsorship deals and modelling con­

tracts, they post photos of themselves at

attractive locations, which also include

museums and amusement parks. 

It is easy to find online listings of the

hottest wanghongbookshops. Some have

big windows with views of famous land­

marks. One favourite, part of the Zhong

Shu Ge chain, is in north­western Bei­

jing. It features dizzying Escheresque

staircases and a mirrored hall. The walls

are lined partly with books—and partly

with wallpaper that looks like books. 

On a recent weekday morning the

shop had an ample flow of people brows­

ing and buying. But there were no wang-

hongin sight. “They all come on the

weekends,” said a clerk, “and we just

hope they’ll buy something while they’re

here. Even if it’s only coffee.” 

Bookshops

Salvation through selfie

B EIJING

Chinesebooksellersarestruggling.Narcissisticyoungpeoplemighthelp

Bookshop or backdrop?

The  police,  neighbourhood  committees
and  businesses  work  the  phones,  too,
checking  on  people’s  whereabouts.  Scam­
mers have tried to take advantage of the sit­
uation. Real contact tracers will not ask for
your  bank  details,  warns  an  official  guide
to the process.
Before  the  pandemic,  neighbourhood
committees  did  not  have  much  power.
Now,  though,  they  can  confine  people  to
their houses for weeks. Invasions of priva­
cy are common. Cameras are often placed
outside  flats  to  ensure  compliance  with
isolation protocols. A person might receive
a  visit  after  buying  drugs  that  suggest  he
has a fever. Some high­profile abuses have
left people outraged. Health workers in the
central  city  of  Xi’an  beat  up  a  young  man
who  violated  lockdown  to  buy  a  steamed
bun. Local officials in some provincial cit­
ies killed the cats and dogs of quarantined
residents  out  of  fear  that  the  animals
might spread the virus.
But  for  the  most  part  the  public  has
been  supportive  of  those  implementing
the  zero­covid  policy.  For  many  Chinese,
the country’s relatively low number of cas­
es and deaths justifies the overall strategy.
If  anything,  they  feel  sympathy  for  the
workers involved. The video of Ms Gao at­
tracted much attention. “It’s the third year
of  the  epidemic.  Can’t  we  find  a  way  to
slowly  reduce  the  burdens  on  front­line
workers?” said one commenter.
The highly transmissible Omicron var­
iant  will  make  that  difficult.  Provinces
have  tended  to  share  workers,  depending
on  where  there  is  an  outbreak.  But  with
Omicron spreading across the country, re­
sources  are  limited.  Chinese  doctors  hint
that  changes  to  the  zero­covid  policy  are
coming and that the state’s most stringent
measures  will  eventually  be  lifted.  For
now, though, China’s politicians are mere­
ly tweaking the strategy. “From beginning
to  end”  China  must  “put  lives  above  all
else”, President Xi Jinping told the Politbu­
ro’s  seven­member Standing  Committee
on March 17th. Thefootsoldiers of zero­co­
vid will remain busy.n

More than zero

Mainland China, daily new confirmed

symptomatic cases of covid-19*, 2022, ’000

Source: China’s National

Health Commission *Locally transmitted only

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0

February March