As China continues to impose a strict Covid lockdown regime, with millions being affected, residents have turned to Bollywood to launch a unique protest on social media. For those in China who wish to defy the government’s “zero Covid” policy, the superhit song “Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja” from the 1982 movie “Disco Dancer” by Hindi music composer Bappi Lahiri has emerged as an unexpected choice.

Residents who are now subject to a strict Covid-19 lockdown are dancing to Jimmy, Jimmy by Bappi Lahiri, which has become the country’s anti-lockdown anthem.

On Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, a lot of people are posting videos that use the song. One of the viral videos depicts a lady singing the song in Mandarin, “Jie mi, Jie mi,” which translates to “Give me rice, give me rice.”

To counteract infrequent outbreaks of the Coronavirus disease, local governments are pursuing the zero-Covid policy, which includes lockdowns, vaccinations, and contact tracing.

The population has been incensed by the strict regulations as a result of restrictions on freedom of movement, food shortages, and a lack of access to essential medical services. Strangely, the act eluded the attention of Chinese censors, who are quick to erase anything regarded as being critical of President Xi Jinping and his administration.

In order to express the suffering of the people, the Hindi song “Jimmy Jimmy” has been skillfully transformed into a subdued protest song in China. Many people are praising those who are protesting the limits in a peaceful manner. In the social media videos, users can be seen dancing and lip-syncing to the well-known Hindi song while sporting the traditional Indian women’s clothing, “bindi,” and a handcrafted saree.

Indian movies have always been extremely well-liked in China, dating back to the heyday of cinema legend Raj Kapoor in the 1950s and 1960s and up until more recent times, when titles like “3 Idiots,” “Secret Superstar,” “Hindi Medium,” “Dangal,” and “Andhadhun” have made remarkably decent profits at the Chinese box office.

Employees recruited to build Apple’s newest iPhone staged a walkout from a site in Zhengzhou, central China, following the virus outbreak and complaints of unsafe working conditions. Employees began fleeing the Foxconn site after some of them grew ill in the middle of October but received no medical assistance, according to reports. Individuals were seen walking around the streets carrying luggage, probably in the lack of public transportation.

According to local media, a scarcity of food supplies within the Foxconn facility was what caused the mass evacuation. China recorded 2,675 cases on Sunday, up from 802 the day before.

Last month the country’s ruling Communist Party and its leader Xi Jinping signaled that there would be no easing up of the zero-Covid policy, calling it a “people’s war to stop the spread of the virus”.

Across the country, around 200 lockdowns have been implemented in recent days – the majority of these affecting community that has been marked as high or medium risk. Residents in different areas are subject to different rules, depending on whether they are in a low, medium, or high-risk zone.

Recently, droves of migrant workers attempted to flee the lockdown situation and return to their hometowns. Visuals shared online indicate that workers at Apple’s largest assembly site in Zhengzhou broke out of the facilities to escape the ‘zero-COVID’ lockdown. 

References:

opindia.com