"Discarded Perfect Rice and Eggs: China's Absurd Zero-COVID Prevention Measures"

Local Officials Filming Video of Discarding Rice and Eggs to Promote Quarantine Policy
Severe Drought in Southern China Heightens Food Security Concerns
Chinese State Media Also Criticizes as "Case of Power Abuse"

Under the 'Zero COVID' policy in China, local officials have been criticized for implementing excessive or unreasonable quarantine measures. The photo is unrelated to the specific content of the article. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Bang Je-il] In China, which is steadfastly maintaining a strict zero-COVID policy, a video showing perfectly good rice and eggs being thrown into the trash for quarantine reasons has been released, drawing criticism from netizens.

In a region of Heilongjiang Province, China, which is under lockdown due to COVID-19, officials absurdly discarded intact rice and eggs on the grounds that they were brought in from outside. The officials even filmed the act of throwing away the rice and eggs to promote the quarantine policy.

According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 28th, a video filmed in Zhaogu, Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province, which is China’s largest social networking service (SNS) Weibo, caused controversy over the past weekend (24th-25th).

Jiamusi City was locked down from the day after two COVID-19 cases were reported on the 17th. In the video, a man tears open a new sack of rice with a cutter knife and pours the contents into a trash bin, while breaking all the eggs before discarding them.

The man said, "Everything that comes from outside must be thrown away like this."

The Zhaogu Epidemic Control Center issued a statement on the 26th saying that the video was filmed by officials in the jurisdiction’s Hongqi area, who took such measures after discovering that some residents were not following quarantine and control regulations and were personally delivering rice and eggs.

The official added that the video was filmed because items coming from outside areas were considered a risk for spreading the coronavirus.

Currently, the southern region, which accounts for 40% of China’s total rice production, is experiencing severe drought until autumn. The largest freshwater lake, Poyang Lake, has also recorded its lowest water level ever, making the food security situation sensitive.

As the situation escalated, the Epidemic Control Center sternly reprimanded and educated the employees directly involved in the incident, and the authorities have initiated disciplinary procedures against the responsible officials.

Despite these measures, public anger has not subsided. A popular science blogger with 1.38 million followers criticized, "If this logic is followed, foreign air and dust also pose the same risk of spreading the virus. So should we now create vacuum covers to protect neighbors and cities? It’s absurd and ridiculous."

A Weibo user pointed out, "Throwing away food to remind residents that they are safe from the virus only causes counterproductive effects."

Chinese state media also joined the criticism. Shakedao, the overseas SNS account of the Communist Party’s official newspaper People’s Daily, pointed out that the incident is a case of abuse of power. It emphasized that this is not the first time quarantine has been irresponsibly conducted, stating, "How much rice has been thrown away, and what has happened to those who committed such acts? All of this must be thoroughly investigated."