China’s young elite are considering moving abroad

LATE LAST month China’s central propaganda department announced a new campaign: “The Strong Nation’s Rejuvenation Has Me”. The goal of this odd-sounding effort is to rally red spirit before the Communist Party’s 20th congress later this year, when Xi Jinping hopes to secure a third term as party chief. But a different kind of rejuvenation is trending online, that of “run philosophy”, a coded way of talking about emigration. Instead of using a character that suggests running away from China, which would antagonise state censors, netizens have been using one that sounds like the English word “run”, but means something different: run (moist).

Most of Shanghai’s 25m residents have been locked in their homes for more than a month in order to stem an outbreak of covid-19 in the city. Case numbers are dropping there, but rising in Beijing, the capital, which is doing mass testing and imposing targeted lockdowns. Business leaders worry about the economic impact of China’s covid controls. Many foreigners are leaving—and, according to online search trends, China’s young and educated elite are thinking about doing the same.