Even two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the contrast between case counts in the United States and China—where the outbreak began—are startling.

In China, the number of total confirmed COVID cases stood at 143,624 by Feb. 14, with 5,706 deaths and 9,017 currently positive with the disease. That’s in a nation of over 1.4 billion people.

By the same day, the US had clocked in a total of 79,325,576 confirmed Covid cases, a devastating 943,411 deaths, and 28,545,272 currently testing positive. That’s in nation of only about 332 million.

Why the stark difference? China’s restrictions to its citizens in response to COVID is the main reason. These policies, often viewed as controversial in the eyes of western media, are both viewed as extreme and yet effective in combating the spread. But how do they affect the daily life of people in China? This reporter interviewed three Chinese citizens to learn their experience and feelings behind these policies:

Zhou: In the Beginning

According to a notice issued by Wuhan Novel Coronavirus Prevention and Control Headquarters: “Starting from 10 o ‘clock on January 23, 2020, the city’s urban buses, subways, ferries and long-distance passenger transport will be suspended; People are not allowed to leave Wuhan without special reasons, and airport and railway station departures have been temporarily closed. The recovery time will be announced later.” 

Wuhan, a megacity located in China’s Hubei province, was temporarily frozen.

“The community was locked down,” said Zhou. “Staff who worked for the government, made a fence … to prevent people from going out. They slept in tents. Wuhan was designated as a serious epidemic area by the Chinese government.” 

“The community was locked down…It was very safe, and everyone was being cooperative.”

Zhou

“It was very safe, and everyone was being cooperative. Supplies were delivered during the lock down,” Zhou remembered. She showed me photos of government supplies, most of them vegetables. “I had to report my health condition to the community, fill in a form every day, and let the staff check my temperature daily.  All the workplaces were shutting down. But you could go out with a special work permit, so my dad could go out, and my dad’s friends could go out. They bought supplies for COVID-19 patients in quarantine. Chinese people have been practicing collective consciousness, so we care about our groups and teams during the special times.”

Although the “collective consciousness” and teamwork culture made most people cooperative when they had to be quarantined, people’s feelings were changing and complicated in the face of the unknown virus and the unprepared medical system.

“I got up every day to see how many people were infected, how many people died, from the virus. I viewed the online medical platforms. When I went to the grocery store to buy rice, I covered my hands with plastic bags to prevent the virus. The supermarket in our neighborhood had been bought out, and there was nothing left. I couldn’t even have instant noodles.” Supplies were scarce at the beginning of the epidemic.

“My grandfather died during the lockdown. Yes, the third-grandfather, my grandfather’s brother.” Outdoor activities were banned during the lockdown, which meant simple funerals could not take place. During the special period, Zhou’s other relatives also passed away. “There were no funerals. The dead were taken to the crematorium and burnt. I’m not even sure if it’s his ashes in the box,” said Zhou.

The lockdown took 76 days. Milk tea shops and restaurants resumed food delivery. At the gate of the community where Zhou lived, the property management opened a temporary window for people to take food delivery.

According to the Circular of Hubei Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Prevention and Control Headquarters, on March 25, 2020, outbound passage control measures were lifted in all areas except Wuhan. On April 8, 2020, outbound passage control measures were lifted in Wuhan and outbound traffic was resumed in an orderly manner.

Ms. Zhu: Health Code Tracing

The virus cannot be vanished, but the government uses a range of strategies to track and record people’s traveling pathways. Among all the strategies, trip codes and health codes are two representative tools. In cities with coronavirus cases, people need to use their smartphones to scan the codes, in order to keep their records.

Health Code is a location-based app used by the Chinese government to track and record the travels of people within the cities. Since 2020, when the Chinese government officially announce the existence of coronavirus, it has been used as a personal e-pass to access communities, stores, medical system, public transportation and other applications, and records users when they enter and exit those infrastructures.

Trip code, which stands for Communication Big Data Trip Card, has a similar function with health code, but it is mainly used to track the users’ traveling path between cities.

People are required to provide personal information, health status, travel history, place of residence, and whether they are a close contact with COVID-19 cases/suspected cases on both platforms. The apps analyze those data based on personal information, and indicate QR codes in different colors, representing the epidemic risk level. When the QR code turns red, users will be quarantined by the local community.

Another interviewee, Miss Zhu, went to visit her relatives in Xiamen, Fujian with her parents during the Spring Festival. Her trip code showed her travel information and reported this “usual” to her college counselor.

“She asked me if I was traveling without permission.” Miss Zhu said. She received a phone call from her instructors on the same day.

As a college student, Zhu was told by school staffs that she was not allowed to travel to other cities during the Spring Festival, unless she reported to the school in advance and got valid approval.

During the Spring Festival, many Chinese schools and companies prohibit students and employees from traveling to other cities without permission. Freelancers, the unemployed, and retirees should also report their travel to the community staffs, especially when there are COVID cases in their cities.

Dong: Returning to China

Dong, an international student who graduated from Canada in 2021 and returned to China, drew a conclusion after comparing the epidemic control in both countries.

“I feel safer in China, but not safe. On the one hand, I agree with China’s epidemic prevention efforts, which are positive in controlling the COVID cases. On the other hand, I feel like I have no privacy. Wherever I go, big data knows. I would become a “space-time companion” for no apparent reason, and my encounter with potential patients would be my “crime”. In the face of the virus, I had to cooperate with the community and accept a mandatory quarantine.”

“I feel safer in China, but not safe.”

Dong

Conclusion

These three Chinese citizens have experienced the complicated feelings of frustration at losing freedom in the face of the continuing dangers of COVID-19 at their doorstep.  US citizens look cautiously at China’s success as we struggle to hold on to our hard fought rights for independence and privacy.

SAMPAN, published by the nonprofit Asian American Civic Association, is the only bilingual Chinese-English newspaper in New England, acting as a bridge between Asian American community organizations and individuals in the Greater Boston area. It is published biweekly and distributed free-of-charge throughout metro Boston; it is also delivered to as far away as Hawaii.