What would happen if online deliveries from China’s tech giants stopped overnight? This city offers a glimpse

It was not a failure of technology or the apps that caused the problems - the local government shut down infrastructure, such as restaurants and stores. Analysts say that slower adoption and usage of online platforms, as well as the lower availability of gig workers, contributed to the service disruption. — SCMP

A humanitarian crisis of sorts took place in a Chinese town last week after the local authority imposed draconian measures to lock down 300,000 residents to contain an outbreak of Covid-19.

The restrictions in the downtown area of Tonghua, a rust-belt town in Jilin province near China’s border with North Korea, not only led to complaints about food and medicine shortages, but also to an outpouring of criticism on social media that delivery and e-commerce services from the likes of Meituan and Ele.me had also been suspended.