BEIJING--In a new "war" being raged in China, police burst into a farmer's home in a dramatic raid that accuses the "offender" of putting lives at risk.

The officer smashes two mah-jongg tables to pieces in the crackdown on the spreading coronavirus.

“You may not regret dying, but other people want to stay alive!” the officer, wearing a face mask, screams while wreaking havoc with the furniture used for China’s national pastime.

The video, posted on the Chinese social networking site Weibo, believed to have been captured on Jan. 28 in a farming village in Jiangsu province, has gone viral in the nation as many news media have picked it up.

As the war on the new coronavirus continues with no end in sight, authorities in China have intensified monitoring and control of daily life in the name of epidemic prevention.

Some of the crackdowns are so extreme that people are wondering if simple pleasures, such as playing mah-jongg, are worth risking life and limb for.

NO MORE DANCING, CHATTING

Such bans have become a common sight in China since late January, as police in various regions have prohibited people from recreational activities, such as playing mah-jongg and dancing in a park.

Law enforcement officials said such bans are necessary to prevent infection at a gathering site.

Videos capturing police officers destroying mah-jongg tables have been posted on the internet, one after another.

In some cases, police themselves posted such videos to make their presence felt by the public.

Authorities in Wuhou District in Chengdu have urged residents to, “Call the police on your parents if they go play mah-jongg.”

People have felt the near-excessive crackdowns tightening various aspects of daily life, not just recreational activities.

Police in Ruichang city in Jiangxi province have released a video in which they monitor the city overhead using a drone.

In the video, police, through a loudspeaker mounted on the drone, order residents caught chatting in front of a house: “You! The four people chatting there! Get inside the house!”

In another instance, police warn a male pedestrian: “Throw away the cigarette and put on a mask! You, right there!”



SNITCHING ENCOURAGED

In Xiaogan city in Hubei province, which is adjacent to Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic with the largest number of infected people, officials on Feb. 3 issued a notice to residents about serious consequences and punishment.

“If you develop a fever, you must call the government and report it before the day is done. If you don’t, you will be held legally liable,” the notice said.

Another directive said, “All citizens must have their body temperature checked. If you don’t cooperate, you will be punished.”

Authorities also encouraged “snitching,” offering a reward of 1,000 yuan (16,000 yen, or $143) for reporting a person who has a fever but fails to notify authorities.

Some people on social networking sites have criticized such extreme measures by authorities in the name of epidemic prevention as "too much."

However, many others have expressed support for police and those cooperating, saying things such as, “An extraordinary situation needs extraordinary measures,” and “This much action is needed.”



WATCHFUL EYES EVERYWHERE

It's not just the authorities that have taken an extreme approach to health and sanitary measures.

Neighborhood community associations and other residential groups have begun keeping an eye on each other.

“A person who holds out about having a fever is an enemy of the class who lies hidden among people and the masses,” reads a banner displayed in Xiamen city in Fujian province.

The slogan, just like ones from the Cultural Revolution era, has sprung up amid the panic over the coronavirus epidemic.

Similar slogans and banners have been displayed in communities in other regions of China, one by one.

“A visitor is the enemy. Don’t open the gate,” is one such example.



LOVE CONQUERS VIRUS?

Such a totalitarian approach has fueled debate on the internet.

One poster lamented on a social networking site: “This is what occurred during the Cultural Revolution. Individuals are forced to obey the entire society and going against it is not tolerated.”

Another admonished excessive vigilantism and preached in a posted comment, “We may remove ourselves from the virus, but we should not remove ourselves from our love for humans.”