A Firsthand Account of Lockdowns in Zhengzhou: "This Government Does Not Belong to the People"

During the three years of the pandemic, Zhang Gong witnessed communities across the country being sealed off with iron barricades, and everyone complied without any resistance. He felt deeply disappointed by this. (Video screenshot/Voice of America)

[People News] Over three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zhu Xiaona, a resident of Zhengzhou, Henan, faced two pregnancies during lockdowns, missing critical opportunities to save her pregnancies. This experience transformed her from someone indifferent to politics into a critic of the government’s incompetence, ultimately leading her to leave China.

According to a report by Radio Free Asia, Zhu recalled, "The pandemic feels like a nightmare. I lost two children and witnessed the government’s ineptitude."

On December 5, Zhu Xiaona, a former Zhengzhou resident in her 40s, reflected on her journey of awakening during the pandemic from her home in California, USA. She said, "What is the meaning of life if not to live as a free person?"

In the first half of 2024, Zhu, her husband, and their newborn baby sought asylum in the United States. She explained, "Sometimes, we cannot resist because resistance is futile. As someone from the grassroots, I’ve come to understand the nature of the system in China."

Zhu added, "I lived in a muddled state for so long, not understanding politics while in China. But I refuse to let my child endure the same life I had. With the CCP’s system, who knows when change will come?"

Losing Two Children Due to Lockdown Measures

During the 2020 Lunar New Year, Zhu Xiaona successfully conceived naturally. She immediately sought to follow her doctor’s advice for pregnancy preservation but was unable to access medical care due to lockdown restrictions. Community workers turned her away and sent her home. She later suffered a miscarriage and, by the time she finally saw a doctor, all she received was the doctor’s helpless sympathy.

This was only the beginning of her painful memories.

In July 2020, Zhu became pregnant again but suffered another miscarriage due to yet another lockdown. She witnessed community “connections” freely coming and going, some even chatting unmasked at the entrance. Frustrated, she called the mayor’s hotline and exposed the community’s negligence and the government’s inaction on social media.

However, this brought trouble to her doorstep. Law enforcement officers demanded she delete her posts, warning her: "If you don’t delete them, we’ll detain you." Hoping to escape surveillance, Zhu returned to her hometown, only to have local village officials caution her to "not stir up trouble."

Living in Fear and Understanding the Psychology of Desperation

At the end of 2020, Zhu conceived for a third time and successfully gave birth in 2021. Yet, her thoughts on life, the nation, the government, and society had deepened: "It all feels like a political mission, with no consideration for how ordinary people are supposed to live."

From mandatory COVID-19 testing to the hardships of daily life, Zhu observed a lack of government assistance. She remarked bitterly that the CCP not only demands obedience but also selectively provides information while disregarding the well-being of the people: "This government is not for us common folk; it serves the officials and elites. Many friends in China are struggling to survive—anyone with the slightest opportunity would leave."

During the pandemic, Zhu lived in constant fear of sudden lockdowns, worrying about running out of food or being unable to return home. Her neighborhood mandated free nucleic acid tests every two days. "At 3 a.m., the community loudspeakers would wake everyone up, urging them to come downstairs for testing. The whole building would crowd together—weren’t we supposed to be avoiding infections?"

Zhu noted that the speed at which nucleic acid testing booths were set up was unprecedented, likely tied to vested interests. Meanwhile, pensions were repeatedly cut, and social security costs increased yearly. When her newborn child developed a fever 42 days after receiving a pneumonia vaccine, she took the baby to the hospital for examination and medication, only to be required to pay 80 yuan out of pocket for a COVID test because it wasn’t covered by insurance.

When citizens sought help from the government, Zhu noticed the response was often suppression, not solutions. In 2022, when several rural banks in Henan froze withdrawals, authorities dispatched personnel to assault protesters and used red health codes as a tool of intimidation. That same year, in October, when riots broke out at the Foxconn factory, workers staged a "mass exodus," but the public was left in the dark about the details.

During the pandemic, unemployment and suicides by jumping from buildings became common. "It felt like it happened every day," Zhu said, yet the government offered no compensation. Instead, they imposed conditional discounts—spend more to receive more benefits. In late 2022, as the country prepared for a full reopening, Zhu’s friend was still forcibly taken to a makeshift hospital for quarantine. "It felt like they were making one last grab for profit."

Zhu saw no hope during the pandemic. Her one-year-old child cried and fussed daily at the balcony, longing to go outside. She compared this despair to recent incidents of drivers indiscriminately ramming into crowds on the streets: "Although such actions are wrong, I can understand them. They were left with no options, and neither was I."

Now living abroad, Zhu has access to information she could never see before and has gained a newfound appreciation for the spirit of the White Paper Movement. She expressed respect and admiration for those who stood up against the regime.

"My words might sound harsh, but in China, we lived like animals," Zhu said. "After coming here and attending the two-year anniversary of the White Paper Movement, I learned the details. I deeply admire those who had the courage to stand up. They disregarded their own safety and showed great bravery—they are heroes."

Zhu believes the CCP owes the people an explanation. "Three years of lockdowns on a whim—what about the lives lost during this period?" She emphasized that she loves her country but refuses to let her child undergo brainwashing in its education system: "This is taking history backward, not forward."

"I just wanted to leave, to let my child live a life of dignity, with freedom—freedom of thought and freedom of speech. But in China, I might live and die without ever seeing such things."