Coronavirus lockdown: what can Hong Kong learn from China’s cities?
- Wuhan was the first to tell people to stay home and kept supplies flowing through community organisation
- But tragedies in Xian also serve as salutary examples
“I panicked at the beginning of the lockdown,” Liu Chaoye, a retired teacher in Wuhan, said. “Food was in short supply and vegetable prices surged. But one week later, everything seemed to be on track.”
Thanks to a developed e-shopping system, Liu found he could still place orders on e-commerce platforms. Daily necessities were brought to his door by volunteers, while street-level cadres organised routine Covid-19 tests, collecting temperature data and handling emergencies.
“I give credit to the street management cells, an army of volunteers and a well-developed e-shopping culture,” he said. “If Hong Kong has something similar, then lockdown measures will probably work.”
05:31
Wuhan’s low-income workers struggle to find jobs eight months after Covid-19 lockdown lifted
The Wuhan campaign was part of a nationwide effort. China mobilised more than 4.6 million grass-roots Communist Party cells and 4 million community workers to help the city and its neighbouring areas in Hubei province during the lockdown period.