As young Chinese with ‘no desire to fight’ take pandemic path to adulthood, the impact will be felt for years
- Instead of leaving the nest and spreading their wings at university, China’s coming-of-age youth are relegated to a life of lockdowns, uncertainties and rising mental anguish
- Ambitions are dwindling, and there’s a rising desire for a peaceful and stable life in chaotic times, with dreams left by the wayside
In his final year at Shenyang University, Wu Zhiming’s education has not only been blighted by Covid lockdowns, it’s been devoid of the social element that helps shape what are often the most formative years of adulthood.
The 23-year-old senior hardly associates with any of his classmates, having had little chance to get to know them during the mere three months that he was on campus from October to December last year. That was before recurrent coronavirus outbreaks forced him to return to his home province of Gansu – more than 2,000km away – where he was again relegated to remote learning.
In the early days of the pandemic, remote online courses became the global norm. Though as most countries embraced vaccines, and their people resumed normal activities, universities reopened to on-campus learning.
But for Wu and millions of other students across China, nearly the entirety of their college lives have occurred away from campus, as the government’s persistent zero-Covid policy entails highly disruptive coronavirus-containment measures, including occasional citywide lockdowns and strict controls on movement between provinces.
[Pandemic life] has left me with no desire to fight for the future. Now I just want to live a peaceful life without ambition
As a result, researchers – and students themselves – are warning of the possible long-term implications from what has become a stagnated transition from adolescence to adulthood. Meanwhile, China’s “economic shocks” are also expected to have a profound impact on the choices that young adults make in both life and their careers.
Wu, who is studying automotive engineering, said the tumult of the past few years under zero-Covid has deprived students of countless opportunities to study and travel, stripping them of freedom at a time when they are meant to be embracing it.