Shanghai Disney Resort has been shut down for two days after a bizarre one-day experience during Halloween. Appearing more spooky than the Haunted Mansion, the China-based theme park was locked down with 30,000 guests and cast members stuck waiting for test results before they were allowed to leave. The park was filled with Chinese health officials wearing all white hazmat-like suits. Chinese media is reporting that this is all over a single COVID case… which you’re more than welcome to believe if you’re so inclined. Given China’s total control of their media narratives, others might not be so inclined.
China Locks Down Disney Theme Park
Image Courtesy: Associated Press
The lock down of a theme park over “one” COVID case, and then the subsequent closure of the park for multiple days (at least two) highlights the dangers of operating a theme park within the confines of a communist oligarchy. With each person in the park monitored, often connected with the communist party, and the media likewise controlled by the government, it’s difficult to even know what actually is going on with the theme park. Meanwhile, an American corporation is essentially held hostage with a multi-billion dollar investment that can be utterly taken over by the government at any point. If you’re curious why Disney might be inclined to critique the United States but never the Chinese Communist Party, consider their theme park business can be cut off over “one” COVID case.
According to MSN in regards to China’s strategy with the pandemic:
China has reported just 97,151 cases and 4,636 deaths from covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, though, again, that doesn’t include asymptomatic cases, which virtually every other country includes in its statistics.
The so-called covid-zero strategy has been dropped by most countries that’ve pursued it, including Vietnam, Australia, and New Zealand, among a handful of others that started 2021 with the strategy. But China is still striving for complete elimination of covid-19 within its borders, using a combination of draconian lockdowns and mass testing whenever cases pop up. Mass testing has really set China apart, as entire cities with millions of people are sometimes tested to control spread of the disease.
Here’s basically the only video that has managed to escape onto the rest of the world’s internet (China’s internet is a closed system and closely monitored by the government). Not the strange juxtaposition of fireworks and disease prevention suits:
Something disconcertingly dystopian about the fireworks at Shanghai Disney framing a mass covid testing pic.twitter.com/hgyhBNqWg9
— Nick Marro (@nickm4rro) November 1, 2021
