In Subtropical Asia’s Special Project, for three consecutive days, we will publish a diary of young people now staying in locked down Wuhan, the coronavirus epidemic center. The text and pictures are from their social media account and have been authorized.
“I don’t remember how many days Wuhan has been closed. I’m too lazy to figure it out …. My family and I have gone through a 14-day incubation period. We are very, very lucky people. But now Wuhan is the hell on earth. Some of my relatives and friends have died … and some are crumbling at the gates of hell.
The most uncomfortable thing is that we can’t help them at all! Watching them giving up their instinct and hope for survival! Wuhan now has dozens or even hundreds of times the mortality rate of that in non-Hubei regions!
I am not optimistic at all now … we are locked in at the entrance of hell. And the random death mode is turned on. Please remember: The sacrifices of the people of Wuhan are sacrificed with their life”
By film director Wang Qiming, 5th February @Wuhan
“After posting my blog yesterday, I received some Weibo comments, and everyone was full of various concerns. Some people said they are worrying about their company’s failure and possible bankruptcy, fearing that they will lose their jobs. One explained that he has 8,000 yuan in mortgages to pay per month and 2,000 for rent. Life is really hard! Some people say that they have lost more than 6 pounds already, and every day when they see the newest epidemic data, it makes them trembling. Many working-class people have already had a very difficult life before. They struggled hard and can not stand too many twists and turns. They do not have much sense of control over their lives. Many potential problems under the epidemic do not have public solutions and measures yet, and individuals are even weaker when it comes to these things.
It rained in Wuhan today, and I finally decided not to go out. In the morning, I received a request from a netizen for help. Her husband and her in-laws were diagnosed with the coronavirus. Two elderly people have died, and there are two children at home, one is four years old and one is only one month old. She told me she has the suspected symptoms and is now in quarantine, worried about her child’s care. She said that the child was being taken care of temporarily, but her tone was full of anxiety, uncertain about the situation after the quarantine and about whether the child could receive continuous care. I wanted to calm down and sort out the interviews with sanitation workers that I did a few days ago, but it was a bit difficult to concentrate. It was lonely outside, but I still looked out of the window from time to time, I feel very unsettled and seem to be confirming something”
By feminist lawyer Guo Jing, 6th February @ Wuhan
Last December Dr.Li Wenliang sent a message to his fellow medics with the warning of a virus he thought looked like Sars – another deadly coronavirus.
But he was told by police to “stop making false comments” and was investigated for “spreading rumours”.
Last night, Li Wenliang died after contracting the virus while treating patients in Wuhan. His death has sparked widespread public anger and grief in China. The top trending hashtag on the Chinese social media site Weibo was “We want freedom of speech”. Now, all posts with this hashtag are gone. We translated a few of them, cause what happened it happened, it shouldn’t be erased, should’ve forgotten.
#wewantfreedomofspeech #, evokes the feeling that we have been cheated for a long time. I used to be very proud of being Chinese, and I am still proud, but also very disappointed.Time to wake up.
#wewantfreedomofspeech# Look at the adults outside. They deceive themselves and hide their eyes. They try to solve everything with lies. We will be devastated by them and forced to live in a world they weaved. Everything is true, but it is not true.
#wewantfreedomofspeech #,I don’t want to use satire, euphemisms, analysis, new stories, political fables to express, cause our demands are straightforward: please return freedom to us!
#fivedemandsnotoneless # to withdraw the admonition to Li Wenliang; to withdraw all the orders to delete posts; to withdraw all the accusations of being guilty for free speech; to establish an independent investigation committee to thoroughly investigate the responsibility of the officials involved; and to immediately return the freedom of speech to the people.
By Chinese netizens, 7th February @ China