THROUGHOUT the Covid pandemic in China, a constant presence in the lives of its citizens have been hazmat clad lockdown enforcers.
Known as ‘Da Bai’ – or Big Whites – on account of their uniforms, they have acquired a reputation for the brutal treatment of protesters and even for welding people into their own homes.
The term describes the brigades of police, medical workers and volunteers in white hazmat suits who have become ubiquitous throughout the pandemic.
China’s state media has used the term since the virus emerged in 2020 in Wuhan to soften their image.
But video has shown the faceless Big Whites brutally beating anyone who steps out of line as they enforce Chinese president Xi Jinping’s harsh ‘Zero Covid’ policy.
Summing up what many in China feel, Samuel Yu, a 40-year-old Shanghai marketing executive, said: “Those Big Whites don’t have any sense of humanity.”
Recent video shows dozens of riot police in all-white pandemic gear, holding shields over their heads, advanced in formation in the southern city of Guangzhou.
Police were later seen escorting a row of people in handcuffs to an unknown location.
They were met by a hail of bottles, an indication of the anger felt towards them.
China’s ability to control its 1.4 billion population has helped limit its Covid death toll.
Some have referred to Dabai as ‘white guards’ in reference to the Red Guard zealots of the Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao, which led to mass killings until his death in 1976.
“There has always been a strong stress on collective action in China, in which individuals can have their interests subsumed by the overall needs of society,” said Rana Mitter, a professor of Chinese politics at Oxford University.