Written by Li Yuan In its single-minded pursuit of the “zero-COVID” strategy, the Chinese government was omnipresent and omnipotent, using its unlimited resources and unchecked power to control the nation. After having nearly exhausted its resources and the goodwill of the public, the government has now simply disappeared, just as many Chinese are getting very ill with the virus or dying from it. For much of this year, Yang, an engineer in Shenzhen, took COVID-19 tests nearly every day, from one of the more than 40 government-built booths in his neighbourhood. Whenever he missed one, he would get text reminders...