【02】Two years of suspension: The story of the closure of the border town Ruili

In this folded land, for a long time, more eyes and better resources have flowed almost "naturally" between a few big cities, so that we have all actively or passively become accustomed to the absence of small town noises. . When we talk about the lockdown, our memories easily take us back to Wuhan, which was shrouded in panic in the early days of the epidemic, or to the helpless city of Shanghai, which was just waiting for a breather. In the past few months, when we have felt angry and sad for unknown strangers through a screen several times, we did not know or always forgot that there is a small town located on the border of China and Myanmar. Since the COVID-19 epidemic, Since the epidemic, China has experienced a total of nine lockdowns. Last year, her experience briefly attracted attention on the Chinese Internet. That may be the first time you heard her name: Ruili.

This issue of "One in 1.4 Billion" invites William, a local young man from Ruili, to share the story of the closure of this small border town. In addition to the huge pause button on life that has been pressed by the "epidemic prevention", what other things are the residents of Ruili going through that we don't understand?

At the end of the program, William mentioned his own predicament, which seems to be a common problem faced by many young people who care about society today: when life plans are rewritten by grand narratives, fear and absurdity attack every nerve intensively, and trust Collapse, can we start over?

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One in 1.4 billion, join us in restarting public discussion where every opinion matters.

This issue’s content timeline:

00:01:00 - 00:10:50 [Guarding the Border: A Great Adventure for Ordinary People under the Long Border]

The dilemma created by the word epidemic prevention is different for every ordinary person. Residents living in the small border town of Ruili, especially those who are employed, have faced their unique and arduous task of guarding the border since last year. According to William, the Ruili section of the border has no natural barriers, making it particularly difficult to prevent and control the import of overseas epidemics. Defending the border is not an easy task. The initial conditions were very crude, almost like a wilderness adventure. In addition to the weather, wild animals, unarmed ordinary people had to deal with the weather, wild animals, and stowaways who were not too polite to cross the border. William said that ordinary people were injured while guarding the border, and some people encountered the lockdown during the rotation and were trapped at the border for a month. Last year coincided with the military coup in Myanmar. William said: "It is really dangerous. I don't know what the government is thinking." Later, the living conditions of the border guards improved, but because some border guards were diagnosed with COVID-19 after returning to the city, the government Then the people in the city were not allowed to guard the border.

00:11:00 - 00:16:00

[In and out: those who risk their lives to cross the border]

William shared with us that the lockdown in March last year, as well as the above-mentioned border guarding and the policy of leaving Ruili that will be mentioned later, were all because people continued to risk their lives to cross the border, including those who left Ruili and those who returned from Myanmar.

[Strict Li Rui Policy: A City You Can’t Get Out of]

Since the city was closed in July last year, the Ruili government has implemented a very strict policy on leaving Switzerland. In addition to submitting an application to leave Switzerland, reporting your destination, and waiting for approval, you also need to queue up, because each community only has a very limited number of places to leave Switzerland every day. After getting the quota to leave Ruili, the applicant still needs to quarantine in a hotel or boarded house at his own expense for fourteen days before he can actually leave Ruili.

00:16:20 - 00:23:00

["Weird things" in the city lockdown: Rumors became true after twelve o'clock]

In the past two years or so, Ruili has experienced a total of nine lockdowns. William told us that the decision to close the city is usually announced through public accounts, sometimes one or two days in advance, sometimes with short notice. Most elderly people living alone without smartphones can only rely on notifications from family members or grid staff. What is strange is that every time before a city lockdown is announced, residents have privately spread "rumors" about the city's lockdown and have begun to rush to buy vegetables and daily necessities. The government has not responded to this. What has always worked well is that after twelve o'clock, the government issued a notice announcing the closure of the city.

[Repeated city closures: grand slogans are ineffective and complaints abound]

William told us that the residents of Ruili were very cooperative at first, but repeated city closures have brought irreversible changes to residents' lives. Some shops have closed down, and some people have begun to lack food. During the first few lockdowns, the government did not provide policy assistance to residents, and did not even provide basic food supplies. Residents could only find their own ways and use the opportunity to go out to do nucleic acid tests to buy things secretly. Later, roles like grid workers began to appear in every community, responsible for helping everyone buy and deliver groceries.

["Grid workers are human beings too"]

Initially, grid members were assigned their own duties by civil servants, public institutions and some enterprises. During the lockdown period, residents' affairs, both large and small, basically needed to be handled by grid staff, whether it was buying and delivering groceries, doing nucleic acid tests, or applying to go out or leave Switzerland. Since grid workers have their own jobs and have to take care of other tasks of grid workers, many grid workers choose to resign to get rid of this double burden. Later, the government recruited social workers from society to handle related matters full-time and share the workload of grid workers. Now grid workers are mainly responsible for approving Li Rui applications.

00:23:03 - 00:26:47

【Qing stewardess report: A home I can’t go back to】

Jiegao is a border trade zone directly connected to Myanmar by land. Before the epidemic, the place was bustling with traffic and crowded with people. Duty-free shops, jade and jade, plus the rise of the live broadcast industry, many people heard about it and wanted a piece of the pie. A small area, a grand occasion. However, due to epidemic prevention needs, the Ruili government requires all Jiegao residents to move out of Jiegao, which has not yet been opened. Without people, Jiegao is like a dead city.

[Nucleic acid controversy]

After several lockdowns, the residents of Ruili underwent nucleic acid tests so many times that it became almost a daily routine. Speaking of this, William's tone revealed helplessness and confusion. He shared something that may sound familiar today: a Ruili resident once contracted COVID-19 while doing nucleic acid tests and refused to be quarantined, but in the end he had to compromise.

00:26:48 - 00:31:24

[Not "lockdown" or "quarantine"]

William told us that after several lockdowns, the words "lockdown" and "quarantine" no longer appeared in government announcements, but were replaced by some new words.

["Shanghai is an enlarged version of Ruili"]

William said that everything that happened in Ruili happened in Shanghai. Ruili is the epitome of Shanghai, and Shanghai is an enlarged version of Ruili.

[After leaving Ruili, where to go: "My feelings for the city have not changed, and I have great opinions on the system and policies."]

There are reports that hundreds of thousands of people have fled Ruili in the past two years. William told us that like many small towns in China, young people in Ruili tend to go to big cities for development. After studying abroad and returning to China, William originally planned to start a new stage of his life in Shanghai, a city he was familiar with, but the epidemic and the policy of leaving Switzerland derived from epidemic prevention disrupted his original plan. Choosing to be unemployed at home, he finally waited until the policy in his hometown of Ruili was relaxed, but news of a city lockdown came from Shanghai...

BGM: Tao Zhe "Dear God"

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