04
NEWS
arcadiaquill.com
APRIL 2022
CHINA’S LATEST COVID LOCKDOWN By HENRINA ZHANG Staff Writer As the world moves away from the pandemic, Shanghai, China, has been desperately battling the Omicron variant, attempting to hold its zero-COVID-19 policy. According to BBC News, with over 200,000 new cases, none of which are serious, authorities are struggling to find places to isolate their citizens. “Millions are confined to their homes as Shanghai battles a fresh outbreak of the virus. Anyone who tests positive is placed in quarantine,” said BBC News. The government has been locking people in their homes and citizens are screaming for help. They are running out of food and water supplies, not to mention the devastating economic effects of the lockdown. Government drop-offs for food and water have been the
only way citizens in isolation are able to obtain their necessities, and analysts predict that they are running low on supplies. The Washington Post noted how residents are shouting from their windows, screaming, “Save us. We don’t have enough to eat.” Others have been taken away to makeshift quarantine facilities and hospitals. These confined areas contain dozens of beds, with the majority of reluctant citizens quarantined in these areas. There have even been physical altercations in disputes between them and the authorities. In addition, Shanghai, China’s biggest city and a global financial hub, shutting down, along with limited employment labor has greatly impacted China’s production output and income. He Xiaopeng, President of an electric vehicle manufacturer, XPeng, expressed how if Shanghai isn’t reopened in May, all car facto-
ries across the country might have to stop operating. Additionally, even as China’s extremely strict zero-COVID policy becomes increasingly difficult to maintain, the foundational elements still apply. Firstly, travel in and out of China is practically impossible, and internal movement is restricted as well. Travelers entering China are required to take multiple health screenings and quarantine for two weeks. In addition, regular community testing will take place, and residents will be evicted and sent to quarantine if they test positive. Almost all non-essential businesses, schools, and public transportation are shut down as well. The sudden outbreak and the authoritarian government not only put its citizens in an economic crisis but also diminishes their faith in authority. “Even the authoritarian governments,
they still have to take this mass reaction into account, or else will lose the cooperation from the society. We’re going to expect that [the central government] is going to improve the policy implementation, even though the policy itself is not going to change,” Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Vox on Friday. Ultimately, government officials and Chinese citizens themselves have determined that China’s zero-COVID policy is no longer effective. With a different pandemic landscape, the policies and legacy of how COVID is being handled have caused an uproar, and people are watching how much longer Shanghai can hold onto its strict policies.
hzhang@arcadiaquill.com Photo by COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG
THE RACE TO REPLACE ERIC GARCETTI By DARIN BUENALUZ Staff Writer The upcoming Los Angeles mayoral election holds more importance than ever. On Jun. 7,the people of the second largest city by population will vote in a mayoral election and determine who will take the spot of two time elected Eric Garcetti. Two candidates in the mayoral race, Karen Bass and Rick Caruso, have risen to the top of the standings and are expected to be the primary challengers to replace Garcetti. Polling with about 23% of voter popularity is Karen Bass, who currently represents the 37th Congressional District of California in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a nativeborn Angeleno, Bass has spent much of her career being an advocate for social and economic justice, founding the Community Coalition in South Los Angeles (LA) as a response to the rise of drug abuse and gang violence in the 1990s and serving as the Chair of the Black Congressional Caucus during the Trump Administration. Much of her vision as mayor
surrounds raising less fortunate Angelenos to a higher quality of life, increasing both temporary and permanent housing locations around the city to address the rapidly increasing cost of living, increasing financial support for small businesses in a period of pandemic recovery, and expand programs to employ Angelenos in critical economic components such as Los Angeles International Airport and the Ports of LA and Long Beach. Leading slightly ahead of Bass with 24% of voter popularity is businessman Rick Caruso, best known for being the mastermind behind the Americana at Brand, one of the largest shopping and dining complexes in LA. Unlike Bass’ social advocate approach to addressing the city’s core issues of homelessness and high crime rates, Caruso’s campaign is aimed at creating the “cleanest and most transparent mayoral administration in the history of Los Angeles,” a stark contrast to the rampant corruption he has seen through charges pressed against several city council members. Some of his most ambitious strategies include work-
ing for a salary of $1, ending City Council involvement in how land is used around the city to prevent bribes, and refusing to accept contributions from corporations or other lobbyists interested in dictating the Angeleno government’s decisions. Caruso has been very vocal in his criticism of the current government, notably Attorney General George Gascon and his push for the passing of Proposition 47, which waives any misdemeanor charges so long as the total value of the misdemeanor is under $950. Like Bass, Caruso also seeks to address the housing issue in Los Angeles by declaring a state of emergency, which will involve the Emergency Management Department in creating projects and allocating funds to get more Angelenos off the street. As for current mayor Eric Garcetti, he’s leaving office on a less than desirable note, being under fire for allegedly witnessing firsthand top aide Rick Jacobs sexually harass his former Director of Communications Naomi Seligman and doing nothing to stop the incident. Los Angeles Police Department Matthew
Garza, alongside several other individuals working in the Garcetti administration, have also filed similar complaints against Jacobs and Garcetti’s indifference towards taking any sort of action to stop him. Though Garcetti cannot run for reelection as LA mayor due to having already served the max of two terms, surrounding controversy has put his potential future career as the U.S. Ambassador to India in jeopardy. LA is coming upon one of its most important elections. With Garcetti leaving office, qualified individuals such as Caruso and Bass are eager to take his place and shape their own vision of the vast city and implement their own approaches to addressing its key issues. However, only time will tell whether those approaches will merit the benefits their creators claim they will have.
dbuenaluz@arcadiaquill.com Photos by FLICKR.COM
