//…In the weeks since “zero Covid” ended, China’s all-encompassing propaganda and censorship machine has fallen into its old routine of deleting negative press and spreading “positive energy” posts that praise the struggles of individuals and the government. But experts said the three-year trauma caused by the stringent pandemic measures and the last-minute U-turn would prove hard for people to quickly move past.
“It will be impossible for everyone to forget completely. Many will remember ‘zero Covid’ deeply and clearly,” said Fang Kecheng, an assistant professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who studies China’s propaganda. However, that may not lead to widespread loss of confidence in the government, he added, noting that “people still have ways to convince themselves that things don’t seem so bad now.” …For now, experts said, both the censors and the propaganda officials appear to be scrambling to figure out what to do.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a planned or orchestrated propaganda plan coming out. It’s more because the general direction has changed, so the propaganda has to follow suit suddenly,” Dr. Fang said. One major test will come when the virus spreads to smaller, rural areas with insufficient medical resources, he said. //
Full article: https://nyti.ms/3VkuyfD (The New York Times)
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