[Beijing Diary] The Package Has Not Arrived

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] A ten-year-old child informed that they needed to prepare a mat for a school outing. After checking several nearby stores without finding a suitable one, the mat was ordered online. The mat selected from the delivery app Meituan (美?) was said to be shipped within 24 hours from Guangdong, but it did not arrive even after several days. Meanwhile, the child went on the outing, and the mat remained missing for several days after that. When inquiring at the store’s service center, the response was, "The item went to Beijing but was returned. We will just refund you."

There was a similar incident. One of the biggest advantages of living in China is being able to eat fresh and delicious fruit relatively cheaply. A basket to hold plenty of fruit was ordered from the Chinese shopping mall JD.com (京?). Even after three weeks, it showed no sign of arriving. Although it was shipped the day after payment, it still showed as "in delivery." When contacting the service center, the reply was, "Delivery is currently blocked and cannot proceed. Please wait a little longer."

What is the reason for the sudden blockage of miscellaneous household goods delivery? The answer lies in the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (Party Congress). The Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of State Security, and State Post Bureau recently announced a "Notice on Strengthening the Safety Management of Items," which enforces stricter postal security inspections during the Party Congress period. Because the contents and sender/recipient personal information must be repeatedly verified multiple times from mailing to receipt, many items get stuck at logistics centers. Delivery has not been completely stopped, but some items arrive while others do not. Clear standards are difficult to discern.

It is not just goods. People are also facing difficulties entering Beijing from other cities. Although there is no explicit ban on traveling to and from Beijing, the COVID-19 health app Jiankangbao system can be used to block entry at the source. In China, to travel anywhere, one must prove a negative COVID-19 nucleic acid test result through the regional Jiankangbao app; if a popup blocks app usage, returning to Beijing is impossible. A Beijing resident said, "I went on a business trip to Tianjin and have been unable to return to Beijing for several weeks because the popup issue has not been resolved. I eventually returned to Korea first."

Additionally, bank services are frequently delayed, and file transfers on the Chinese messenger app WeChat intermittently fail. Although these issues appear unrelated on the surface, diplomatic sources and local residents say they are extensions of the crackdown ahead of the Party Congress. One resident said, "In the past, censorship and security issues tightened before the Party Congress, but this time the crackdown is especially severe," shaking their head. According to the Financial Times (FT), since June, Chinese public security has arrested more than 1.4 million people nationwide through crime crackdowns, and 200 million people have been quarantined under the pretext of preventing COVID-19 spread. The FT described this as the "fortification of Beijing."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Great Hall of the People, where the Party Congress is held, does not allow entry except for a very limited number of people, including local media reporters. A separate media center is set up at a hotel near the Great Hall to support coverage by providing live broadcasts and materials of the Party Congress. However, this media center also shortens the nucleic acid test validity period from the usual 72 hours to 24 hours, requiring daily testing. Security checks are much more thorough than those at international airports, including full-body searches.

Countries around the world create cultures and customs based on their unique histories and political systems. China’s people are likely accepting the current situation based on such cultural foundations. However, China’s hammer-like control, which broadly strikes rather than precisely addressing only sources of anxiety, suppresses even the willingness to understand its unique history and political system. A system that controls good citizens through trivial inconveniences is even cowardly.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.