Shanghai Dragon Television, the city’s main television channel that also broadcasts via satellite to Chinese-speaking audiences worldwide, announced the decision on social media late Tuesday night, hours after it was criticized online. Dragon TV said it welcomed “valuable reviews of our work”. The pre-recorded show, which will pay tribute to Shanghai’s core workers as well as the government leadership, was scheduled to feature some of China’s best-known celebrities, including Andy Lau and Wang Yibo. It was originally scheduled to air Wednesday afternoon during prime time. A Dragon TV staffer said the purpose of the program was to “bring positive energy” to the city’s nearly 26 million lockdown residents. But an online reaction followed shortly after the show was announced. “We live at home, we worry about not being able to get food; we are constantly consumed every day and a lot of negative things happen. “At the moment, we have not been able to fight the epidemic,” said one commenter. cases of China And they continued: “What is the significance of this special party, is it really for the people, is it really to pay tribute to the medical staff and the volunteers? Do something real and I really do not care about the party. Please pay more attention to public opinion. Solve problems and do real things, do not deal with such formalism “. Shots of people unable to buy food have been circulating on Chinese social media over the past fortnight, as the city first entered a gradual lockdown, then a full lockdown. Residents have complained about the handling of the epidemic by the city and blamed the authorities for the poor preparedness. Despite severe restrictions, the number of Covid-19 cases continued to rise in the city. Shanghai reported an additional 25,141 asymptomatic cases on Tuesday, up from 22,348 a day earlier. The symptoms also increased from 994 to 1,189, city officials said. The situation in Shanghai and the spread to nearby cities have worried economists, who say lockdowns have disrupted global supply chains. On Wednesday, dozens of major electronics manufacturers suspended production at their facility in Kunshan, home to one of the largest electronics hubs in the world. Perhaps under the pressure of the internet reaction, Dragon TV said in a midnight post on Tuesday that it would postpone the broadcast of the program. However, despite the last-minute withdrawal, some people were still angry. “Ask Dragon TV to go live 24 hours a day: 1) Check who is raising prices. 2) Keep track of where aid materials are sent, how many are sent and to whom? “How can lonely elderly and critically ill people go out of the community to see a doctor?” Wrote one.
