40 China The Economist May 14th 2022
officials. To prevent further unrest, China
imposed a harsh nationalsecurity lawon
Hong Kong in June 2020 and moved tobar
those deemed “unpatriotic” from public
office. This included purging the legisla
ture—and the election committee that
chooses the chief executive—of opposition
politicians (both were already stackedwith
the party’s supporters).
The party’s press grumbled that re
quirements that civil servants be “politi
cally neutral” were inadequate. Theywere
being used by bureaucrats as an excuseto
snub the party. In 2020 Hong Kong began
requiring all civil servants to pledgealle
giance to the Basic Law, the city’s postco
lonial constitution. From this year civil
service recruits must pass a test onthe
contents of the security law, in additionto
a previously required one on the BasicLaw.
Such requirements, and Hong Kong’s
lurch towards a style of rule more likethe
mainland’s, appear to be deterring young
people from applying for civilservicejobs.
In 2021 the number of applicants for aopo
sitions dropped to about 9,700, down from
14,000 in the previous year. These arenor
mally highly coveted slots, offering hand
some pay (hk$55,995, or about $7,133, a
month for new recruits) and a high levelof
job security. But the impact may be hardto
discern. Only about 45 such posts are avail
able each year; the government willstill
have a large pool of talent from which tofill
them. “The government can control myac
tions, but cannot control my mind,”says
an applicant, professing not to be worried
about the new emphasis on loyalty.
Mr Lee has promised to introduceyet
more legislation relating to political
crimes. He may also implement long
mooted plans to add a new governmentbu
reau (ministry, in effect) to look aftercul
ture, sport and tourism. In the past some
politicians have winced at this, fearingit
might be used to promote only cultureap
proved by the party. But with the Legisla
tive Council now shorn of filibustering
democrats, there will be no opposition.
Last year’s change of leadership of thegov
ernment’s once feisty broadcasting wing,
rthk, does not augur well. Formerem
ployees say the new boss is focusedon
making propaganda.
Such work may be helped by the open
ing in December of a training collegefor
Hong Kong’s bureaucrats. It “should strive
to nurture civil servants in their senseof
patriotism”, said a senior mainland official
who joined the launch ceremony by video
link. Newspapers controlled by the party
have published calls for more instruction
of aos at mainland academies as well.One
article, by Andrew Fung, a former senior
press handler in the office of the chiefex
ecutive, said this should include a “short
period of military training”. That, no
doubt, would help to boost recruitment.nCovid-19inShanghaiThe never-ending
lockdown
T
he 25 mresidentsofShanghaicould
be forgiven for not recognising their
own city in the pages of the local press.
Most have been locked in their homes for
weeks because of an outbreak of covid19.
Yet an article published on May 9th in a
stateowned rag noted how residents in
some districts are happily returning to
their local markets. Another explains that,
with covid on the wane, interest in Shang
hai from global investors is picking up
again. The People’s Daily, a mouthpiece of
the Communist Party, referred to the long
lockdown as a “pause”.
It is true that the number of new cases
in Shanghai has fallen from more than
25,000 a day in midApril to fewer than
2,000 recently. But restrictions in the city
are being tightened. Areas that were slowly
reopening have closed again. New barriers
seal off housing compounds that were ac
cessible days earlier. Residents may be
carted off to a quarantine facility if an in
fection is found on a nearby floor. Foodde
livery services, crucial to keeping Shanghai
fed, have been barred from some areas.
The moves have baffledresidents. They
are reminded of the earliest days of the
lockdown, when fresh meat and vegetables
were hard to come by. What’s worse is that
the new restrictions have come without
any official explanation.
The government has issued guidelines
for moving out of lockdown. The plan,
which does not include a timeframe, di
vides communities into three categories
depending on how recently new cases have
been found there. The first category is thestrictest: residents are unable to step out
side their homes, which may be barricad
ed. The second level allows residents to
walk around their housing compound, but
not on the street outside. The third allows
for residents to be issued passes to walk
around their neighbourhoods.
But these guidelines have been widely
disregarded by districtlevel authorities.
On May 9th officials in central Shanghai
roamed the streets with bullhorns, warn
ing that walking outside was no longer per
mitted. The tightening of restrictions
comes after President Xi Jinping called for
stronger anticovid measures. Officials re
fer to the stricter regime as a period of jing-
mo, or silence. One in Huangpu district
says it is a shortterm experiment to see if
less freedom of movement leads to a rapid
reduction in cases. But there has been no
citywide announcement of such a policy.
The authorities’ haphazard approach is
stirring anger. Communitylevel commit
tees, called juweihui, have been given
broad powers to control the movement of
people. But committee members are ac
cused of incompetence. Some have been
caught hoarding government rations. They
often keep people locked down longer than
required in order to avoid being blamed if
new cases are found. Videos on social me
dia show angry residents yelling at juwei-
hui members, who are often separated
from the crowds by fences or gates.
Elsewhere in China, the authorities are
similarly cautious. Enforcing the zeroco
vid strategy, which aims to crush out
breaks before they can spread, is seen as
proof of ideological fitness. Restrictions
have been placed on Beijing, the capital, in
order to stem a small surge in cases. Offi
cials in the city of Jilin continue to keep a
tight grip on things a month after claiming
to have cut off community transmission,
following a long lockdown. That bodes ill
for the residents of Shanghai. It ishardto
imagine life in the city returning tonormal
soon, no matter what the papers say.nS HANGHAI
China’s biggest city tightens up againAwindow into China’s covid strategy