Chinese authorities in the city of Shanghai have told the media to refrain from using the term “lockdown” when reporting about the end of the two-month-long lockdown, according to a report in Chinese Digital Times.
Shanghai recently opened up with people being allowed to leave their home, use public transport and work from office. There is a leaked directive, however, doing the rounds telling media outlets in the country not to use the phrase, “ending the lockdown”.
The leaked document, carried by China Digital Times, states: “Do not use the phrase “ending the lockdown.” Unlike Wuhan, Shanghai never declared a lockdown, so there is no “ending the lockdown.” All parts of Shanghai underwent static management-style suppression and suspensions, but the city's core functions kept operating throughout this period. Emphasize that related measures were temporary, conditional, and limited. The resumption on June 1 will also be conditional: it is by no means the case that every person in every district across the whole city will be able to freely head out at once, nor that this is a uniform relaxation. Reports should not play up “comprehensive relaxation” or “comprehensive [return to] normality.”
The outlet goes on to advise its readers saying, “Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. Some instructions are issued by local authorities or to specific sectors, and may not apply universally across China.”
NDTV could not independently verify the leaked documents.
Shanghai eased a range of Covid-19 restrictions on Wednesday in a step towards returning to normal after a two-month lockdown that confined residents of the megacity to their homes and battered China's economy.
The commercial hub of 25 million people was closed down in sections from late March, when the Omicron virus variant fueled China's worst outbreak since Covid first took hold in 2020.
