‘China still has the conditions for a democratic revolution’

Before the outbreak worsened, my friends and I all thought that China was a digital totalitarian state that was invulnerable to attack. But all these halos were smashed because of the Chinese government’s chaotic response to the pneumonia in Wuhan.

For me, this crisis exposed the cowardice and recklessness of the bureaucracy of the Chinese government. At the same time, it demonstrated that, in the absence of the bureaucracy, the Chinese people retain strong capabilities to self-govern and self-organize on the grass-roots level. This leads me to believe that contemporary China still has the conditions for a democratic revolution.

—Adelaide, Australia

‘My parents are deeply brainwashed by Chinese Communist Party propaganda’

As the Chinese Communist Party continuously uses authoritarian means to deal with matters, a humanitarian disaster is happening. I decided to drop everything and escape as soon as possible. But my parents are deeply brainwashed by Chinese Communist Party propaganda. They said that if they are going to die they would rather die here in this land, and live or die with the motherland.

I felt frustrated by this, but at the same time I knew that’s probably what the majority of Chinese people also think.

I bought plane tickets and decided to leave with my 9-year-old daughter. My wife’s passport is valid for less than six months, and the entry-exit department told us that they’ve suspended all immigration services for Chinese citizens for the time being. So for now it’s just me and my daughter here in Thailand.

This epidemic made me sense deeply the split within my family. This division derives from our different views of the C.C.P.

— Gao Enzhou, Bangkok