On May 30, the Shanghai municipal government issued a notice stating that beginning June 1, the city would lift its lockdown and "gradually resume" access to residential compounds, public transportation operations, and motor vehicle traffic. Neighborhood committees in non-risk areas were instructed not to "restrict" residents’ movements under any pretext.
On May 31, internet users revealed that on the evening of the 30th, media outlets had received a message saying that Shanghai would issue a "reopening" announcement at 6 p.m. that day. The message instructed media to "carefully control the tone" of their reports, ensuring that headlines and content were "accurate" to avoid "misinterpretation or misunderstanding." Specifically, it included instructions such as: "Do not use the term 'lifting the lockdown.' Shanghai is not like Wuhan — it never officially declared a city-wide lockdown, so there is no 'lifting' of one. The city's static management was simply a 'pause,' during which core city functions continued to operate... Reports must not exaggerate phrases like 'fully reopened' or 'back to normal.’"
Other internet users reported that a Shanghai official stated that neighborhood committees (residents’ committees) are self-governing organizations in urban areas. Their actions reflect autonomous decisions by residents themselves, not government directives. Formal policies and regulations are only valid when issued by the municipal Party Committee or the municipal government. Information released by neighborhood committees only represents the consensus of that specific committee and its community. The government does not take responsibility for the legality of such communications. Going forward, if neighborhood committees cite "instructions from higher authorities," these will only be recognized if accompanied by officially stamped documents.
Additionally, some residents shared that on the night of May 29, while taking walks in their compounds, they suddenly noticed many neighbors heading toward the gates. When they asked the volunteers stationed there whether the lockdown had been lifted, the volunteers replied: "If you want to go out, go out. We never said the compound was locked down. If you say it was, that was something you residents chose voluntarily — so there’s no need for us to notify you.”