It is said that “people vote their pocketbook.” But when they aren’t allowed to vote, as in China, they may do something else: explode. This is especially true when their government, as in China, persists in imposing tyrannical Covid policy that is, in a word, irrational.
While China has been regarded as a model by Western pseudo-elites such as WEF founder Klaus Schwab, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, it is essentially “a COVID lockdown hellscape,” as commentator Monica Showalter puts it. In fact, China’s 34,000 coronavirus cases, to use Showalter’s number — insignificant in a country 1.4 billion-strong — “have been enough to put the entire nation … into a lockdown prison,” she writes. This has led to economic distress and increased poverty.
Though China tries feverishly to control the information flow (à la the Biden-Big Tech Axis), information does leak out. For example, there are the quarantine-camp videos (below) from early this year.
And according to the same source, Beijing persists with this irrational policy, with the videos below presented as evidence.
Worse yet, China is still welding some people into their homes (video below), according to Songpinganq.
(Hat tip: Showalter.)
This has led to to tragedy. Mere days ago, at least 10 people died in a fire in the western Chinese province Xinjiang after reportedly having been locked in their apartments in Covid’s name. All a firetruck could do was spray water from a distance too far for the stream to reach the burning structure (video below). “‘Open the door, open the door,’ a voice screamed from inside the building,” related BuzzFeed News. “‘Someone save us.’”
The tyranno-stupidity, to coin a term, doesn’t end there. Chinese government drones have reportedly been spotted spraying unknown chemicals over cities (video below). And “whatever comprises the drone cocktails,” notes PJ Media’s Ben Bartee, “if the lead paint in Chinese-produced children’s toys is any indication, it’s probably not good.” (For sure, the Safe and Effective™ “vaccines” are bad enough.)
There are many other such videos, and a lot more trespasses could be related. But why is this happening? Why does China double down on Covidian paranoia when virtually all other nations have largely moved on?
Bartee provides an explanation, one not often heard, writing, “Fueled by the obstinate inertia of the Chinese Communist Party — which would view backtracking on policy it has so publicly fully committed to as an unacceptable loss of face (an important and often misunderstood concept in Asian culture) — the government’s brutal ‘Zero COVID’ policy runs full steam ahead.”
“The resulting images — the handful that leak out of China’s infamous internet firewall — shock the conscience,” the writer continues. “Science fiction isn’t so imaginative in its depictions of futuristic dystopia.”
Bartee’s “losing face” observation struck me because it was my first thought. Beijing’s actions, whether domestic or in foreign policy, cannot be understood without grasping the pride-driven Chinese obsession with image. In fact, I’ve often pointed out that a similar motivation is apparent among our pseudo-elites, though fear of losing power is an even greater motivator than pride in their case.
That is to say, were our pseudo-elites to admit that the untold damage visited upon our country via Covid policy was wholly unnecessary because the restrictions were foolish, their careers would be over. They’re in such a deep hole that all they can do is keep digging until people become distracted by other concerns and the “pandemic” fades from memory (already happening).
Yet with China, the pride factor is quite significant. In fact, to wax philosophical, this is typical of pagan (oh, what an unfashionable term!) cultures and is why Christians defined Humility as a virtue.
As author Sheridan Voysey explained, the “ancient world considered humility a weakness. Whether you were rich or poor, what you prized instead was honour — having your merits recognised and your name praised…. Humility was something for children and slaves….”
So it is still in some cultures today, including China’s. Note, too, that the conception of “honor” in question here is a shallow one. It involves what others think you are, as opposed to what God knows you are. It relates to what you do when everybody is looking, when it should relate to what you do when nobody is looking.
Civilizations reflecting this pagan honor code could thus be called narcissistic cultures. For the emphasis here is on avoiding embarrassment more than guilt, which is characteristic of narcissists. Guilt, of course, is something you feel because you were bad, while embarrassment is felt because you look bad.
This is why Christianity has so stressed Humility: It counteracts Pride, which is the father of all sin because it blinds us to our sins. The first step toward remedying faults is acknowledging them, something beyond the prideful.
But the Beijing regime may lose more than just face. China is currently being roiled by massive anti-lockdown protests that some observers believe could (maybe) portend the regime’s demise. In fact, Shanghai dissenters are calling for the entire Chinese Communist Party’s ouster.
Of course, visibly losing control means losing face, and Beijing may understand French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville’s observation, “The most dangerous moment for a bad government is when it begins to reform.” A harsh clampdown may thus be nigh.
So will Beijing’s “pride goeth before a fall”? High-tech (computers) has already conquered man in chess. Let’s hope the human spirit can fare better against China’s high-tech tyranny.
