Armstrong Economics Blog/China Re-Posted Apr 12, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

People are starving in Shanghai. The screams heard in the disturbing video above are due to more than mere frustration. China placed millions under a strict lockdown that was initially supposed to last for five days. As cases allegedly spread, China extended the lockdown indefinitely under their zero-COVID tolerance policy.

Those who prepared for a five-day lockdown are now rationing what food and water they have left. The tap water is not necessarily safe for consumption, and people have begun to boil water if they have the means to do so. According to my sources, people living within communities rally together to buy bulk food orders when possible for a premium. China is offering a closed-loop system for some workers, who must live at their job site for the remainder of the lockdown. Therefore, workers are in short supply, and demand is extremely high. Hungry citizens typically log on to food delivery apps early in the morning and usually only have a few minutes to place their bulk orders. The food they receive is carefully rationed as the next meal is not guaranteed.

The barter system always emerges in times of disaster. People are trading with one another where possible, although they are forbidden from actually leaving their residences. No one is permitted to visit relatives or check on the elderly or disabled. Worse, people are unable to access medical care or prescription drugs. The government continues to provide rationed food, but its rollout has been so ineffective that most simply do not have access to food.

China will allow its people to die from dehydration and starvation to protect them from a virus with a negligible death rate. This is how revolutions begin.