海角大神

Through deserted Shanghai streets, some people silently pedaled bicycles, dragging roller bags with one hand or balancing luggage precariously on front wheels. Others fled the city鈥檚 lockdown on foot, wearing full hazmat suits and carrying possessions stuffed into plastic bags. They lined up for at least a mile on the access road to Hongqiao Railway Station, bedraggled refugees out of place against the backdrop of manicured boulevards and futuristic high rises. Among the crowd was Carol, a writer.

She recalls surveying the scene in May, shocked by how the ultramodern, cosmopolitan city she鈥檇 viewed as a splendid castle had transformed overnight into a place of mass deprivation.

鈥淎fter this experience in Shanghai, everyone feels we aren鈥檛 living in a palace after all, but in a mud-brick house with a thatched roof,鈥� says Carol, who spent more than two months confined to her apartment block with limited food during the country鈥檚 biggest COVID-19 outbreak. A Chinese citizen, she asked to use only her English name to protect her identity.

Similar scenes of exodus have played out across the city of 25 million people in recent days and weeks. For many urban, educated millennials like Carol, the lockdowns and quarantines imposed in Shanghai and dozens of cities nationwide have been a traumatic, paradigm-shifting ordeal that has shaken their sense of security. People have fled Shanghai in droves, and now some are considering leaving China altogether.聽

鈥淭he middle-class group expected a decent life,鈥� says Chen Daoyin, a political scientist and former associate professor at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law. 鈥淏efore they exchanged freedom for security, but now they have neither freedom nor safety.鈥澛�

What struck Carol about the lockdown in Shanghai was that no one could protect themselves. 鈥淭his thing is universal 鈥� your freedom of residence and freedom of travel will be restricted. ... All the people are suffering,鈥� she says from her hotel room in a neighboring province. No matter how much money you have or how big your house is, she adds, 鈥測ou may get a knock on the door and be taken away in the middle of the night.鈥�

Concerned that China鈥檚 strict zero-COVID-19 controls will further encroach on basic freedoms and lead to economic and social stagnation, Carol and many of her peers are exploring contingency plans to move overseas.

Carol, who has never lived abroad before, plans to work harder and earn more. 鈥淚f I have enough money,鈥� she says, 鈥淚 will go.鈥�

Running away

When Joanna returned to Shanghai three years ago after graduating from college in the United States, she expected to live in China for the rest of her life. A two-month lockdown changed her mind.

鈥淭his exceeded my worst predictions,鈥� says the Shanghai-based media worker, asking to withhold her last name to protect her identity. Her goal now is to secure permanent residency in another country, while keeping her Chinese citizenship. 鈥淚 want that option,鈥� she says, to avoid the 鈥渢errifying鈥� feeling that she is trapped in China.

China has allowed millions of its youth to study abroad in recent decades, but the majority have returned home, anticipating they will have better career opportunities here. Yet as the stringent COVID-19 policy exacts a rising economic and social toll, including high urban unemployment, some returned students like Joanna are again looking outward.

Joanna鈥檚 main concern is that the zero-COVID-19 policy, while it has succeeded in keeping cases and deaths in China low, is no longer economically feasible. Official figures show China鈥檚 economy contracting in recent months, with retail sales and industrial production declining. 鈥淚f you keep suppressing people鈥檚 morale, everyone loses their desire to consume,鈥� she says.聽

Even since Shanghai mostly reopened June 1, new outbreaks have led authorities to impose fresh lockdowns, creating concerns about an endless cycle of easing and restrictions. More than 1 million people remain confined at home or in quarantine facilities.

Meanwhile, online discussions about 鈥渞unning away from China鈥� have surged. Chinese netizens created a word for it 鈥� runxue, or 鈥渞un philosophy,鈥� a play on words using a Chinese character that sounds like 鈥渞un鈥� in English.聽

鈥淚t reflects a kind of escapism psychology 鈥� people choosing to run away from this place,鈥澛爏ays Dr. Chen.

On WeChat, China鈥檚 top social media app, Chinese users searched for the term emigration more than 100 million times on a single day in May, according to data released by the company. Emigration has also been a popular topic on China鈥檚 Twitter-like social media platform, Weibo, and millions have viewed a question about 鈥渞un philosophy鈥� on Zhihu, China鈥檚 version of Quora.

Users of GitHub, the world鈥檚 largest open-source platform for software, set up a repository that is gathering detailed strategies and tips on how to emigrate from China.聽

鈥淭o 鈥榬un鈥� is a kind of risk aversion,鈥� says Joanna. 鈥淢any people are thinking about it. They may not have pulled the trigger, but if things continue to go badly, I believe many people will take practical actions.鈥�

Exit strategy

Allen Ai, a Chinese accounting student in Italy, left China a year ago after losing his job during the pandemic. He鈥檚 now fielding messages from contacts back home asking him for advice on moving abroad.

Yet even as the COVID-19 restrictions are pushing some young people to try to emigrate, Chinese authorities are imposing tighter controls on those attempting to leave.

Citing pandemic prevention requirements, the National Immigration Administration announced last month that it will 鈥渟trictly restrict non-essential exit activities of Chinese citizens.鈥� Last year, it said it would suspend issuing passports to people with 鈥渘on-urgent鈥� reasons for leaving the country.

China is unlikely to lift such overseas travel restrictions as long as it maintains the zero-COVID-19 policy, which is currently here to stay, experts say.

Ma Xiaowei, head of the National Health Commission, wrote in the Communist Party publication Qiushi on May 16 that China is planning to set up large numbers of booths for regular COVID-19 testing in all provincial capitals and cities with more than 10 million people, while also creating permanent quarantine centers.聽The goal is to maintain COVID-19 prevention while reducing disruptions to normal life 鈥� an approach that showed better results in Beijing recently.

鈥淢ass testing, makeshift shelters, and green code for travel 鈥� this may be the status in China for the next three-to-five, or five-to-10 years,鈥� Dr. Chen says, referring to the health code system that tracks each individual鈥檚 COVID-19 risk status.

As for Mr. Ai, he鈥檚 seeking permanent resident status in Italy, where he expects to have more opportunities. 鈥淚 think I made a correct decision,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f I stay in China, I don鈥檛 know what I can do.鈥澛�