China has told families to stockpile food and other daily necessities after floods and coronavirus lockdowns sparked fears over shortages of essential goods. Beijing 's commerce ministry directive on Monday stirred some concern on domestic social media that it may have been triggered by heightened tensions with Taiwan , while some said people were rushing to stock up on rice, cooking oil and salt. 'As soon as this news came out, all the old people near me went crazy panic buying in the supermarket,' wrote one user on China's Twitter-like Weibo. The government typically makes extra efforts to boost fresh…