The Strange Idiocy of China’s COVID Response

People receive medical attention in a hospital in Shanghai, on December 23, 2022 (Photo by Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images.)

The way this newsletter normally works is that I, the sage author, offer answers to political questions of the moment. Or theories.

Or a hot take or two, as is most often the case.

But I have no solutions to today’s mystery. In fact, I’m hoping readers more knowledgeable about China than I am might use some of their extra downtime this holiday weekend to enlighten me in the comments.

Here’s the mystery: The Chinese Communist Party’s COVID policy makes no sense. It hasn’t made sense in awhile but it makes less sense now that they’ve completely reversed themselves without warning or, seemingly, preparation. They’ve replaced an insanely draconian restrictions regime with an insanely dangerous laissez-faire approach to the virus.

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