2024/11/15 by Xuyi Zhao · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance #Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies #Global Security and Public Health
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/ciso.12502
openalex publication_date 2024/11/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract In this article, I take the organization of universal COVID testing as a point of departure for understanding the lived experiences of China's zero‐COVID policy and look at “the Community” ( shequ ) as a dynamic interface between the state and urban residents during the liminal time of a global pandemic. Drawing on Bryant and Knight's notion of “vernacular timespace” (2019), I analyze the timespace of zero‐COVID as a state‐regulated future orientation interwoven with collective anticipation of crisis, bureaucratic temporal governance, and contestations over time as a form of agency in everyday life. Instead of assuming a unitary form of present‐future relationship that was homogeneous and unchallenged, I argue that the collective anticipation of a public health crisis was constantly shaped, managed, and contested throughout the processes of pandemic community building. This research hopes to enrich reflections on the interplays of time, power, and legitimacy in post‐pandemic urban governance.