Far yet close:
Reflections on COVID-19 restrictions on my family
30 May 2022
D
on’t you see how China is better these days?” my dad would say, citing high-speed rail, ultra-efficient shipping and low crime over our biweekly video calls over WeChat, the Chinese social networking app. It’d be late at night for me, but in the morning bright and early for him. I’d concede, and say “Yes, well, China is far more technologically advanced. But what about the obvious things: Uyghur genocide, or constant censorship, or the social tracking system?” Then it’d be his turn to concede. Such was the refrain, week after week as we tried to stay connected over the last seven years apart. He worked in China, between capital city Beijing and sparkling metropolis Shanghai. Sometimes he’d mention something new, like river cleanup along the Huangpu. But at one point, sometime around early 2020, the refrain evolved. Initially, I worried about how COVID-19 might infect my dad, how the disease could wreak havoc on my halcyon life. Our debates on the governing systems of my adopted nation and our shared homeland began to shift. I found myself admiring how China was
