1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:03,279 Speaker 1: Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the Daily OS. It is Tuesday, 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: the tenth of May. On today's podcast, we're going to 3 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: be exploring the COVID situation in Shanghai and increasingly in 4 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: China's capital Beijing. Pretty dramatic measures being taken to restrict 5 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:17,600 Speaker 1: the spread of the virus. We can tell you all 6 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 1: about that in the Deep Dive vers Ara. There's been 7 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: plenty of commentary around Sunday's debate. What have the leaders 8 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: been saying? 9 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 2: There sure has been. Prime Minister Scott Morrison labeled Sunday 10 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:31,480 Speaker 2: Nights leader's debate as spirited, saying these are passionate topics. 11 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 2: When he was asked about behavior towards the debate's female moderator, 12 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 2: Morrison said, both Anthony and I are completely respectful, have 13 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:42,240 Speaker 2: always been respectful of females in the workplace. Labour's Housing 14 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,280 Speaker 2: spokesperson Jason Clair called the debate pretty full on and 15 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 2: pretty shouty. Wouldn't disagree with that. 16 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: John Lee, the former security chief who oversaw violent crackdowns 17 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: on pro democracy protests in Hong Kong, has been named 18 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: the region's new Chief executive. Hong Kong's Chief Executive is 19 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: a point by a committee of fifteen hundred people who 20 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 1: are almost all selected by the Chinese government. Lee was 21 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: the only candidate. 22 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 2: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenski has said Russian forces bombed a school, 23 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 2: killing at least sixty people. According to Zelenski, the victims 24 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:19,760 Speaker 2: were civilians who were quote simply hidden in the school 25 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:22,960 Speaker 2: from shelling. He called the act a targeted strike at 26 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,720 Speaker 2: the school and labeled it another crime of the occupiers. 27 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:30,320 Speaker 1: And today's good news. It was a penguin party on 28 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:34,839 Speaker 1: Victoria's Phillip Island Beach, where over five thousand little penguins 29 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: swum to shore last week. It marked the most significant 30 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:42,240 Speaker 1: number recorded there since the early nineteen sixties. Apparently they 31 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: were all wearing black and white tuxedos. You may have 32 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: seen some images on your social media feed about the 33 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 1: strict lockdowns occurring in Shanghai at the moment. The city 34 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: is under a strict lockdown, which was briefly relaxed last week. 35 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: Reports are now emerging that they have once again titaned 36 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 1: despite decreasing case numbers. We've read that residents in a 37 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:10,360 Speaker 1: number of districts were told as recently as yesterday that 38 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: they cannot leave their homes under any circumstances and cannot 39 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: accept deliveries. Zara. Before you give us a bit more 40 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 1: information about what's going on, can you remind us of 41 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:22,079 Speaker 1: China's zero COVID policy. 42 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 2: Well, I'm sure most people are familiar with it, but 43 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 2: you might be surprised to learn that whilst the majority 44 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:29,919 Speaker 2: of the world has moved to a phase of learning 45 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 2: to live with COVID, China is still committed to zero COVID. 46 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 2: So where Australia was over year ago. Last month, China's 47 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 2: President Jijiping said it was necessary to overcome paralyzing thoughts, 48 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:46,519 Speaker 2: war wariness and slack mentality. And just to give you context, 49 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:49,920 Speaker 2: the city recorded three hundred and twenty four new cases yesterday. 50 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 2: This has dropped significantly. It hit a peak of more 51 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 2: than five thousand in April, and it's clear its decreasing, 52 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,360 Speaker 2: but the government is clearly committed to getting that number 53 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 2: to zero. You might be wondering how many people live 54 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 2: in Shanghai. It's about twenty six million people, so the 55 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 2: same population size as Australia. 56 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: Can you paint me a picture of what Shanghai looks 57 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:14,079 Speaker 1: and feels like at the moment. 58 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 2: Well, the first word that comes to mind is empty. 59 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 2: If you remember what the world looked like in the 60 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 2: beginning days of the pandemic, so say April twenty twenty, 61 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:27,919 Speaker 2: empty streets, empty cities. It very much resembles that now. 62 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 2: One report told of a woman walking down an abandoned 63 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 2: street shouting through a megaphone for people to stay inside. 64 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 2: Some people in hazmat suits have been demanding that residents 65 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 2: who have contracted the virus hand over keys to their 66 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 2: homes so that the homes can then in turn be disinfected. 67 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 2: One video online shows police picking a lock after a 68 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 2: resident refused to open the door. Now you might notice 69 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 2: I've been talking then about videos that is something that 70 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 2: residents in the city can't see, and that's because of 71 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 2: China's extremely strict sense the ship online. 72 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 1: So go a bit deeper into what these measures look like. 73 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:07,920 Speaker 1: What are the rules in place right now? 74 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:11,480 Speaker 2: The lockdown in Shanghai has involved extreme measures. As you 75 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,200 Speaker 2: just said, Residents are not allowed to leave their homes 76 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:18,080 Speaker 2: to buy groceries and have complained government supplies are insufficient. 77 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 2: There have also been reports of difficulty accessing healthcare, and 78 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:25,719 Speaker 2: footage had circulated online of officials using violence to crack 79 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 2: down on people defying these restrictions. The city is still 80 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 2: using a very wide net to capture close contacts of 81 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,240 Speaker 2: a confirmed case. So previously all of those who live 82 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 2: on the same floor as someone who's tested positive were 83 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 2: transported to designated quarantine facilities, but now there are reports 84 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,239 Speaker 2: that anyone in the entire apartment block will be taken 85 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:49,600 Speaker 2: to quarantine. As you can imagine, this can at time 86 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 2: mean hundreds, if not thousands of people. In fact, according 87 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 2: to The New York Times, half a million Shanghai residents 88 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,480 Speaker 2: who have tested positive have been sent to quarantine camps. 89 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: And now the situation is not just limited to Shanghai. 90 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:08,320 Speaker 1: What other parts of China are feeling these restrictions. 91 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 2: That's right, So Beijing, which has significantly less cases than Shanghai, 92 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 2: has also been placed under strict restrictions. Movement has been 93 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 2: slowly restricted across the city because of a handful of cases. 94 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:23,839 Speaker 2: Officials are acquiring more and more of the city to 95 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 2: strictly work from home, and they've ordered the shutdown of 96 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 2: a number of business districts and all non essential businesses. 97 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:34,600 Speaker 1: You mentioned before the extremely tight censorship laws that exist 98 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:38,919 Speaker 1: online in China. How are journalists around the world getting 99 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,919 Speaker 1: the critical information they need to report on this situation. 100 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, well, it's not like in Australia, where there are 101 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,839 Speaker 2: government statements put out with a clear set of rules 102 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:50,599 Speaker 2: on what you can and can't do. A lot of 103 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 2: the information being fed to journalists is being fed via 104 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 2: residents on the ground who are sharing information via social 105 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 2: media or speaking to media directly. And a lot of 106 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 2: people who are speaking to the media are anonymous out 107 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:06,480 Speaker 2: of fear for whatever the repercussions might be. I think 108 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 2: it's fair to say that the sentiment from the residents 109 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 2: is one of a lot of anger. 110 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: And finally, we know that events in China have massive 111 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: economic impact around the world. What are we seeing reflected 112 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 1: in the markets. 113 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:20,680 Speaker 2: There's obviously been a major impact to economic activity, with 114 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 2: the economy contracting sharply in April amid factory closures and 115 00:06:25,279 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 2: supply chain disruptions. There are no surprises there. The same 116 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:31,919 Speaker 2: thing happened here in Australia when we had our lockdowns. 117 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 2: What's different about China is the scale of the economies 118 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 2: that are being shut down. They are one of the 119 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:41,840 Speaker 2: biggest and certainly most productive economies in the world. Suppliers 120 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:44,640 Speaker 2: face the longest delays in more than two years in 121 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 2: delivering raw materials to their manufacturing customers, and Chinese port 122 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 2: activity fell below levels seen during the first COVID outbreak 123 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,839 Speaker 2: back in twenty twenty. What this looks like for customers 124 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:59,120 Speaker 2: all over the world is delayed shipping times, the absence 125 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:03,360 Speaker 2: of particular products in overseas markets, and then increased costs 126 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 2: associated with materials and products we use every day. Our 127 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 2: markets were down one point two percent yesterday on the 128 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 2: back of concerns about this lockdown. 129 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,600 Speaker 1: This is an interesting story that I think might have 130 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: gotten a little bit lost in the federal election noise 131 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 1: of the last few weeks, but nonetheless an extremely important 132 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: one to be reporting on and thinking about. Zara. Thank 133 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: you for that. If you enjoyed the podcast today, you 134 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:29,560 Speaker 1: can give us a review or rate us on Spotify. 135 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: We really appreciate it, and don't forget to listen to today's 136 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 1: episode of No Silly Questions, where you can hear the 137 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 1: full unedited version of Tom Crowley's interview with Green's leader 138 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: Adam Bant. Have a wonderful Tuesday.