From April 15 to 16, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan visited Shanghai to inspect and guide the city’s COVID-19 prevention and control efforts. According to state media, she “visited old residential communities, urban villages, and local epidemic command centers in severely affected areas.” However, netizens soon discovered that the so-called “inspection site” was actually the rooftop of the Yuyuan Group Building, sparking widespread suspicion that the visit was staged.
One netizen revealed that Sun’s inspection took place on the top floor of the Yuyuan Group Building, which had been refurbished to resemble a street scene. The rooftop had essentially been turned into a movie set, allowing Sun Chunlan to “inspect the streets of Shanghai” from within a completely secure and fully enclosed environment.
Following the exposé, despite Sun reportedly remaining in Shanghai and continuing her inspections according to official news, not a single image or video of her activities was released by any state outlet in the days that followed.
In a state media release dated April 24, Sun issued a call to “fight with determination and work with diligence” in the battle against COVID-19. Ironically, the phrase “fight with determination” only served to highlight the absurdity of the fake “on-the-ground inspection” incident.