Shanghai social media unpicks China’s virus lockdown story

A police officer in a protective suit keeps watch on a street, as the second stage of a two-stage lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) begins in Shanghai, China. — Reuters

SHANGHAI: Videos of a pet dog killed in the name of Covid controls, expletive-strewn songs aimed at Communist authorities and scuffles with hazmat-suited officials – seething, locked-down Shanghai residents are pouring scorn on China’s hardline virus measures via social media.

The world’s most populous country is glued to an aggressive “zero-Covid” strategy, with Beijing extracting political value from China’s relatively low death rates since the pandemic began and gloating over its handling of the virus compared to Western rivals.