It was not unusual to have a drink or dinner in the French concession, and other downtown shanghai neighborhoods without seeing a local Chinese. Huge alien colony as iconic as the Bund embankments or Yuyuan Gardens, He leaves these days en masse, having suffered the recent trauma of incarceration due to Covid-19afraid of the next and weary of uncertainty.
After spending 20 days in the quarantine hotel, the first thing my wife told me when she came home was that she wanted to leave. We never thought of leaving, we were splendid here”, explains Juan, a 50-year-old Andalusian architect. Shanghai quarantine was limited to three months when it was scheduled for nine days. Larrests, chaotic food supplies, transfers of positives to quarantine centers and unfulfilled promises of openings imminent to be shortlisted have exhausted most of the 25 million Shanghainese.
The urge to flee in the foreign community has increased, and a recent survey revealed that 85% plan to leave. Busy days for relocation companies handling relocations, closing Chinese bank accounts, or processing pet health permits. There is no data on the size of the output but signs are alarming. “I am in three Wechat groups ( chinese whatsapp), all with hundreds of foreigners and exodus, where people exchange information about flights and other topics,” adds Marcos, who will soon leave for Thailand.
Lively and multicultural
Shanghai most westernized chinese city and the bridge between East and West is as vibrant and multicultural as New York or London. After the Opium Wars the colonial powers shared this and foreigners returned en masse decades ago, Maoism has already retired, economic miracle. Foreigners repeat that life is “easier” than in Beijing, due to the percentage of English speakers, European biorhythms or the absence of the capital’s stifling formality.
The coronavirus has placed the difficulty of leaving the country, due to the scarcity and shortage of flights, ahead of its advantages. Jörg Wuttke, head of the European Chamber of Commerce in China, has calculated that half of Europeans have left the country since the start of the pandemic. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if half of what’s still left is gone,” he added. The closure of the famous restaurant M on the Bund was symbolic, the foreign colony frequented, and only a third of Korean restaurants stay on the street where they are crowded. Foreign community-oriented businesses are no longer viable.
Carlos, a renewable energy engineer, will return to Europe after spending eight years in Shanghai. The first month of quarantine was chaotic: The neighborhood committee sealed her home after she and her partner tested positiveFearing a fire and the fate of their cats if both were taken to quarantine centers, she argued with the police, applied to embassies… “I can see myself here for another ten years. I love Shanghai and its Chinese culture and gastronomy, here you make a lot more money from Spain and every month than before traveling to Europe or Asia for business. But we haven’t left China in the last three years, we miss family weddings and the birth of nephews,” he says. He adds that his departure has responded to uncertainty, not these turbulent weeks. “We don’t know how long this situation will last: mandatory testing every 48 hours, as soon as a case is detected in your neighborhood “New quarantines, very expensive plane tickets and the risk of cancellation… All no. longer seems profitable to us. We refuse to go back if we don’t get used to Spain, but when Shanghai is back to normal,” he adds.
There is no shortage of the “angry expatriate” figure in China who is stubbornly critical of the government, food and Chinese, locked in his external bubble, and has no reason to stay but his salary. it was predictable that zero tolerance It would have been extreme for them, but the Shanghai confinement also beat the integrated ones. “I’ve lived here for ten years, I have many Chinese friends, my son speaks Mandarin better than Spanish or English. There is no better place to raise your children in Spain without the violence or pornography they are subjected to and without absolute safety on the streets. I will miss Shanghai very much”, complains Juan.
Many argue that it is premature to speak of an exodusHe said that of those who promised to leave, some will stay, some will return soon, and the Pearl of the Orient will regain its shine once the pandemic subsides.
Authorities will re-limit 2.7 million people for major testing
Shanghai It will be back Limiting a territory of 2.7 million inhabitants to perform on Saturday a major coronavirus testThis city, which, as the authorities have stated, has not finished turning the pages of its imprisonment, which has been arduous for the past two months. The affected area is the southwest area of Minghang, and the closure will be lifted when the samples are collected.
notification Doesn’t detail what action will be taken if residents test positive. But according to the restriction China’s “zero covid” approach, all positives and their close contacts are sent to quarantine facilities. An isolation decision is usually made for all neighbors in a building. Shanghai records 9 new local infections on Thursdaybut none of this happened in Minhang.
Frightening statement among users of social networks! they fear that solitary confinement will be extended if positive cases are detected. “They need to clarify whether it will actually rise when the samples are collected,” one Weibo user said. Another said, “What will they do if they show abnormal results after the tests? Continue to jail?” she asked.
After the harsh quarantine, the city has slowly come to life in recent days, commuters on the subways and buses have returned to work, and residents have gathered in parks or on the riverbank. But others, such as residents of a closed building in the Xuhui district, face constant restrictions that have sparked some protests.