Introduction
The Covid-19 pandemic has developed into a significant global public health emergency. Shanghai, one of China’s biggest cities, provides a typical and successful case for studying epidemic governance. The risk level of Covid-19 in Shanghai was quite high in the early stage of the epidemic due to the city’s high degree of economic development, social mobility and large population. Accordingly, many people worried whether Shanghai would be able to prevent and effectively control Covid-19. How the city finally did succeed in controlling Covid-19 effectively is worth researching.
As a phenomenon with local, national and regional characteristics, globalization is grounded in social, economic relations and networks organized on the basis of regions and nations, and in regional and global exchanges. The path from Shanghai to the world lies with the actors in the region. The core institutional platform is formed by regional organizations and regional multilateral mechanisms, i.e. institutional design and construction, agenda setting and promotion, norm formulation and diffusion, action advocacy and implementation of regional actors in the process of regional governance (Zheng Reference Zheng2020).
Dr Zhang Wenhong, leader of the Covid-19 medical treatment expert group and Director of the Infection Department of Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, once asked (Chinanews 2020), ‘According to the mathematical model, even if the prevention and control is very good, the number of people infected in Shanghai should exceed 30,000, while the actual number of people infected is only more than 300. And the world is still in the epidemic stage. Why is the result different?’ In the same way, why does the ‘China model’ perform effectively in Shanghai? What kind of local colour does Shanghai add to the ‘China model’? All these constitute significant research topics. Shanghai experienced a hepatitis pandemic in 1980 and SARS in 2003, which has allowed it to gain wide experience in fighting epidemics. Hence, when a new epidemic comes along, the city can quickly arrive at a consensus, draw up a plan, and activate a regional path of global governance.
Anti-epidemic by Law: the Cornerstone and Guarantee of Epidemic Prevention and Control
Quick Response and Urgent Legislation
As an international and modern metropolis, Shanghai constitutes an important link between China and the world. During the epidemic, Shanghai faced increasing pressure, and a correspondingly more urgent demand for the rule of law. In the early stage of the epidemic, Shanghai immediately activated the first-level public health emergency response, which raised epidemic prevention and control to the highest level. The city also carried out a comprehensive analysis of the special policies and social control measures required by the prevention and control of Covid-19.
Against the background of a risk society, the process of crisis formation is a process associated with social construction, that is, a process of ‘turning a public issue into a security issue, and coping with it through special political procedures or means’ (Yu and Pan Reference Yu and Pan2020). Shanghai tried to respond positively and to eliminate or resolve the crisis via ‘proactive security’. In the early stages of an epidemic, it is necessary to utilize the institutional advantages of the nation-wide system and leverage local Party committees to integrate legislative resources in a short period. Thus, the administrative departments of Shanghai simultaneously carried out researching, drafting, revising and soliciting proposals. Within 10 days, more than 60 relevant departments, in two rounds, had been solicited for proposals, and finally the legislative work was completed. It provides legal guarantees for the implementation of the most stringent measures of epidemic prevention and control in Shanghai, and legal support for the resumption of enterprises and public life. At the same time, Shanghai issued local laws and regulations. On 20 March 2020, the city took the lead in launching legislation on the protection of the rights and interests of medical staff, regulating medical disputes and violent behaviour towards them. A joint disciplinary system was established to distinguish mild, moderate and severe medical disturbances, from cancelling the convenient ways to acquire diagnosis and treatment to limiting the use of medical insurance. In the process of legislation, Shanghai has actively learned from the world’s experience. For example, most states in the United States have implemented special protection for medical staff on the legislative level, and attacks on medical staff will result in heavier penalties, which is also reflected in Shanghai’s current legislative framework (Luo and Liu Reference Luo and Liu2020).
Building a Resilient Community of Social Governance
The actual effect of the implementation of the law may not be ideal. In determining the legislative options, the possibilities for actually implementing the law should be considered. Disregarding social needs or actual enforceability may reflect a misunderstanding of relevant legislation, and this may also reflect the legislators’ faulty view of political achievements (Shen Reference Shen2019). High-quality legislation requires the mobilization and integration of various forces and the management of social affairs. China’s national model, characterized by the overall leadership of the ruling party, not only needs legislative support, but also, and more importantly, needs a mechanism of collaborative participation among different social subjects, so that various social forces can form a spontaneous order, participate in the anti-epidemic measures at different levels and in different forms, and build a community of social governance (Zhang Reference Zhang2003).
First of all, the legislation in Shanghai during the period of epidemic prevention and control took fully into account the advantages of China’s existing mechanism of law enforcement, and also extensively mobilized the participation of social forces, thus forming a good environment for the implementation of the law. In addition to the governance dominated by the administrative system, ‘participatory governance’ is also of key significance. Looking at the high-frequency words of Shanghai anti-epidemic network information,Footnote
1
‘enterprise’ (qiye 
) (25,176) ranked second among high frequency words, second only to ‘epidemic’ (yiqing 
) (100,882); ‘property’ (wuye 
) (8869) ranked seventh, topping ‘virus’ (bingdu 
) (7981), ‘volunteer’ (zhiyuan 
) (7860) and ‘pneumonia’ (feiyan 
) (6927), which shows Shanghai’s emphasis on the importance of these multiple topics during the anti-epidemic process.
Second, Shanghai made full use of the spirit of the Fengqiao Experience (fengqiao jingyan 
)Footnote
2
and the resources of mass participation. The core of social collaborative governance is the linkage and cooperation among multiple subjects. In allowing grass-roots participation in public affairs, it is important to break the one-way direction of regulatory authority and gradually improve grass-roots democratic governance. Grass-roots village committees and the neighbourhood committees in Shanghai are fully mobilized to mediate all kinds of social disputes among the masses, relieve grievances of the masses, and provide social service based on residents’ needs. For example, due to the shortage of medical materials during the epidemic, especially masks, neighbourhood and village committees implemented mask appointment and purchase restrictions under the demand of the law enforcement department, ensuring the reasonable distribution of medical resources.
Finally, in the process of dealing with this abnormal crisis, a single government department on its own may not be able to make the existing legal system answer to the expected ability of emergency management. That is to say, there is a ‘governance lag’. The effective solution to this problem lies in the formation of a linkage mechanism not only among various government departments, but also between the government and judicial departments (Zhu and Xiong Reference Zhu and Xiong2020). During the Covid-19 outbreak, the Shanghai High People’s Court and Procuratorate issued opinions one after another to strengthen the analysis and judgement of legal issues related to the epidemic. The Credit Department of Shanghai Government issued special notices on credit management and service during epidemic prevention and control, which required collecting information on four types of dishonest behaviour and promoting information sharing. The administrative punishments related to the four types of dishonest behaviour are publicized on the municipal public credit platform by the public security department of Shanghai.
Joint Defence and Control, Deep Integration of Global and Regional Governance
Global cities have become the nodes of global and local coordination processes, and the liquidity they represent is no longer solely dominated by financial and product elements. Especially at this critical moment of the epidemic, global cities show the character of a city in the way of governance, which is also an important path connecting the region and the world (Yan Reference Yan2018). Since the second half of the epidemic, the focus of epidemic prevention and control has also shifted to the external input. China’s anti-epidemic campaign is indeed a ‘live broadcast’, and the international community has reached a consensus on ‘China’s sacrifice’ and ‘China’s contribution’ (The Review of People’s Daily 2020). As an important link of ‘national unity’ in epidemic prevention and control, Shanghai quickly adjusted the control measures, installing a system of ‘closed-loop prevention and control’ for inbound passengers. Opening up to the world is the city character of Shanghai, while epidemic prevention and control are the top priorities now. These two seemingly contradictory needs have to find a certain balance and reach a compromise. The answer given by the city is that epidemic prevention and control is strict and tight, while at the same time more attention is being paid to the humanistic care in implementing control measures.
There is no one-size-fits-all management and control in Shanghai. In the first stage of the epidemic control, some countries were in a serious anti-China mood, and they introduced various measures, including cutting off all traffic channels, to prohibit Chinese, especially Hubei people, from entering their territories. After the reversal of the situation, Shanghai took more scientific governance measures. Under the fear of a global epidemic, some port cities with a high level of medical resources and convenient means of transportation, such as Shanghai, have become ‘safe havens’ and consequently are under huge pressure of epidemic backflow. The frequent occurrence of foreigners coming to China and enjoying ‘super national treatment’ has constantly worked on the nerves of Chinese society. In the sense of prevention and control according to law, the laws that China should follow include not only domestic laws, but also international laws, i.e. international treaties signed by China and international conventions that China should follow. Yet there is a widespread misunderstanding that since China wants to implement ‘national treatment’ for foreigners, foreigners should also enjoy free medical care and free isolation. In fact, this view confuses ‘national treatment’ (guomin daiyu 
) and ‘treatments for the citizens’ (guomin de daiyu 
). The former is generally only applicable to the field of international economy and trade, while the latter applies to education, health care and other fields. It is a treatment enjoyed by citizens of a country based on their nationality and has strong identity characteristics. And it is an international practice when preventing and controlling epidemics to treat foreigners differently. Foreigners do not enjoy ‘treatments for the citizens’, let alone ‘super national treatment’. Therefore, Shanghai municipal government has made it clear that all passengers from key areas (countries) will be subject to 14 days of home-based or centralized health observation from the date of entering Shanghai, and that those who cheat will be severely punished, Those who falsely fill in the entry/exit health declaration card will be under legal liabilities. Meanwhile, while controlling foreigners strictly, Shanghai at the same time ensures warm and thoughtful service, which embodies the integration of legal and emotional principles, as well as the city’s character and China’s cultural tradition.
Community Anti-epidemic in the Context of ‘Global Localization’
Since its opening in 1843, Shanghai has functioned as ‘one city, three governances’. It has become a diversified community of highly integrated Chinese and foreign cities (Xiong Reference Xiong2008). Based on its social governance and non-institutional factors, Shanghai has accumulated a unique and effective community governance paradigm. The ‘Shanghai model’ has had a profound impact on China’s urban community construction. The grass-roots social network formed by good community governance and the accompanying code of conduct are of great significance for epidemic prevention and control. On the basis of Shanghai’s unique historical and cultural background, the experience of Shanghai community’s anti-epidemic approach has demonstrated its own local character and enriched the connotation of global community health governance.
‘Turning Risk into Opportunity’
The practice of community governance in contemporary China has developed with the transformation of the economic system and the multiple social problems derived from the transformation of ‘unit person’ (danwei ren 
) into ‘social person’ (shehui ren 
). As Li Youmei (Reference Li2018) said, ‘To some extent, the thorny problems in the reform forced the Chinese Communist Party and the state to provide timely solutions to the problems’. The gradual reform route of ‘crossing the river by feeling the stones’ constantly raises the requirement for China’s social governance and forces policymakers to provide new solutions. The modern urban community construction in Shanghai fully embodies these characteristics. The public health crisis promotes the improvement of the community governance system and community health service in Shanghai. Before the outbreak of Covid-19, there were 117 fever clinics in Shanghai. Since then, Shanghai has created 200 new fever clinics in community service centres. More than 60 per cent of the confirmed cases in Shanghai have been diagnosed in such fever clinics. These ‘nerve endings’ of the public health system make the anti-epidemic network more rigorous (Shanghai Announcement 2020). With the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, the modus of ‘special affairs and special operations’ has been gradually transformed into a sound public health system with normalized mechanisms. The mechanism of ‘turning crisis into opportunity’ is an important experience that was formed in the unique social environment during China’s reform and opening up.
Move Down the Focus of Urban Management and Take Advantage of Political Potentials
‘Political potential energy’ is an important academic concept in the implementation of public policy in China. Once a bureaucratic organization encounters a public policy with strong political potential, the executive bodies at all levels can break through inertia and division, with high efficiency and executive power (He and Kong Reference He and Kong2019). This helps to understand the basic level of governance of the Shanghai urban community. In order to deal with the complex grass-roots management business in the construction and development of megacities, Shanghai first proposed ‘two-level government, three-level management’ (liangji zhengfu, sanji guanli 
, 
), an idea of urban management system reform from 1996. Specifically, the reform was intended to expand the authority of streets (jiedao 
), supported by increased management staff, finance and properties, and establish a third-level management coordination organization (Ma and Liu Reference Ma and Liu2011). This system determines the basic framework of urban community construction in Shanghai, makes the sub-district office the principal part of community management, and strengthens the administrative efficiency of the government at the sub-district level. In the process of implementing anti-epidemic measures in Shanghai, its advantages fully came to the fore. For example, during the outbreak, in order to strengthen prevention and control in most urban areas in China, riders of all kinds of meal delivery platforms were prohibited from entering the area, which brings inconvenience to the residents and the catering industry. Changfeng Street of Putuo District in Shanghai collaborated with the Alibaba local life service company and provided a green pass for riders, which was designed and produced by Changfeng Street and issued to the Ali company. Although there are some problems in the operation of the ‘two-level government and three-level management’ system, ‘political potential energy’ is easier to activate and accumulate when administrative forces are actively involved in community management and social life, which plays a positive role in dealing with the urgent epidemic prevention and control tasks.
Technical Management is Deeply Embedded in Urban Epidemic Prevention and Control
Technology governance based on the internet, cloud computing, big data and other information technologies has become an important part of urban community governance in China. Technical governance has been deeply involved in epidemic monitoring, personnel risk rating and screening, resource scheduling and other aspects, showing positive effects, providing sufficient technical support for precise prevention and control and the resumption of production during the anti-epidemic process. After the outbreak of the epidemic, all regions in Shanghai actively developed big data application scenarios and promoted the construction of community prevention and control systems on the basis of widely collecting data and intensively mining them. During the anti-Covid 19 measures, the big data centre of a district in Shanghai, with the help of a population database, built an ‘epidemic dynamic analysis model’, marking the risk scores of 957 sub-districts in red, yellow and blue. The information was updated daily, and this enabled dynamic identification and accurate research and evaluation (Dong and Ye Reference Dong and Ye2020). The application of a ‘Health Code’ (suishenma 
) based on the health status of residents was widely promoted during the epidemic period, becoming a convenient pass for Shanghai residents and creating conditions for ‘mobilized governance’ at grass-roots level. The application of technological governance in epidemic prevention and control embodies the precise and refined logic of governance and transforms the original complex and diversified grass-roots governance problems into technical problems leading to technical solutions that are easy to operate and facilitate scientific management. To prevent information leakage, the central government issued the Data Security Law of the People’s Republic of China (Draft) on 28 June 2020. Article 5 of this law stipulates that it is necessary to ‘protect the rights and interests of citizens and organizations related to data, encourage the rational and effective use of data according to law, ensure the orderly and free flow of data according to law, promote the development of the digital economy with data as the key element, and enhance the well-being of the people.’ This draws the ‘red line’ for scientific and technological means such as the health code; that is, to realize the balance between data utilization and personal rights protection. In this context, Shanghai is making great efforts to construct a personal data protection mechanism. For example, in some application fields of health codes, with reference to the General Data Protection Regulation of the EU, it is agreed that the data subject (user) has the right to ask the data controller to delete the data immediately, upon which the data controller has the obligation to do so at once. In addition, enterprises are under the obligation of personal information protection during their operation and they have to set up internal disciplinary mechanisms for users, such as requiring correction within a time limit, restricting the use of products and services, and timely reporting to the competent authorities.
In fact, the so-called ‘singular modernity’ is only a myth in the era of globalization. Because of different conditions and development models of different countries, there are many forms of modernity (Wang Reference Wang2012). The urban form of Shanghai formed in modern times is the result of the interaction of various complex contradictions. This non-replicability means that the local character of Shanghai city has a very special connotation (Xiong Reference Xiong2008). With the wave of globalization, Shanghai has been identified as China’s ‘global city’ in the future, and the global and local connections have emerged again. How to show the international and global factors and creatively develop the local tradition has become a key factor in the global urban construction. The preliminary experience of Shanghai urban community in fighting the Covid-19 epidemic provides a valuable scheme for the improvement of global governance patterns. In this experience, there are abundant ‘globalization’ and ‘Sinicization’ marks. This show that, in urban community governance, open and shared local traditions may constructively contribute to global connectivity, basing themselves on their individual characteristics, thus building rich resources of global governance.
Informal System: Cultural Foundation of Global Localization
Cultural factors play an important role in community management. The prevention and control of infectious diseases and the maintenance of public health depend on the public’s knowledge, trust and cooperation, indicating that the informal system plays an important role. For example, Covid-19 prevention and control reflect the difference between Chinese and Western cultures to a certain extent. Facing major infectious diseases with ‘human to human’ as the main mode of transmission, a very effective prevention and control method is to cut off the free flow of the infected population. China, European and American countries have all taken similar measures, such as traffic control, lockdown of epidemic areas, and requiring residents to stay home. But Western democratic politics put more emphasis on the concepts of ‘limited government’ and ‘civil liberties’, leading to the Western anti-epidemic model of ‘each shouldering one’s own responsibility, survival of the fittest’. The European countries and the United States have their own national cultural conditions. Individualism and liberalism prevail, and many people are willing to assume their individual responsibility and do not want the government to interfere too much. In the early days of epidemic control in the United States, bars, beaches and streets were still crowded. Even in critical times, Americans may give priority to personal freedom and privacy, which makes the fight against the epidemic more difficult. Thus, in the circumstances where a formal system has been established, informal systems rooted in local traditions and cultural psychology play an important role (Zhu Reference Zhu2020).
Cultural factors also have a profound impact on Shanghai’s anti-epidemic measures and effectiveness. The first characteristic of the Shanghai city is being open and inclusive. Qin Shuo, former Editor-in-Chief of the YiMagazine (diyicaijing 
), believes that for a long time Shanghainese have been seen as ‘feeling good about themselves’. On one hand, Shanghai itself is a typical immigrant city, with residents from all over China. Before 1949, 85% of Shanghai residents originated from all provinces and regions in China. On the other hand, Shanghai has been the most cosmopolitan city in China since modern times, and the interaction between the world and the local has always continued here. The essence of being open and inclusive is to absorb the most advanced features in the culture of China and the world. This cultural feature is the foundation of Shanghai’s urban spirit.
The second characteristic of Shanghai is to respect the scientific spirit and advocate professionalism. Shanghai has played a leading role in the development of science and culture in modern China. This cultural tradition constituted one of the internal driving forces in the construction and development of Shanghai and also influenced the city’s response to public health crises. The outbreak of Hepatitis A in 1988 made Shanghai citizens aware of their bad eating habits and, to some extent, encouraged citizens to change them (Zhang and Ding Reference Zhang and Ding2020). During the SARS epidemic in 2003, as a large city with a permanent and floating population of nearly 20 million, Shanghai had fewer than 10 infections, but the city still set up a 500-bed public health clinical centre in Jinshan (Chinanews Shanghai 2020). Shanghai people advocate professional knowledge and pay attention to scientific methods and attitudes. From garbage sorting to containing the new epidemic, the city has developed a culture of respect for science and professionalism. The professionalism of the city’s medical staff has reshaped social trust in Shanghai. In this epidemic, professionals constantly relied on follow-up research and proposed, in a timely manner, various solutions and suggestions to help government decision-making. And the government quickly adopted the suggestions of professionals and put them into action. This was actually the key factor in the rapid success of the anti-epidemic measures.
Third, there is practical rationality. Shanghainese ‘do things well’. Besides political rationality, Shanghainese have their own judgements. During the epidemic, Shanghai people showed a stronger sense of self-discipline and obeying rules than those from other places. After the ‘home quarantine’ regulation was issued, Shanghainese said that they would not go out, and absolute self-discipline was applied, as had been the case when fighting SARS in 2003. Shanghainese are rule-abiding and will not easily ‘disagree’ with decision-makers. For example, during the epidemic, refusing to cooperate with the epidemic inspection, abusing and beating staff members, and prohibiting residents from entering communities without authorization, frequently occurred in many other Chinese cities, but rarely in Shanghai. In addition, Shanghai citizens conscientiously ‘hunt’, that is to say they supervise and report illegal or immoral behaviours, and instinctively maintain the order of epidemic prevention and control. Shanghai citizens’ emphasis on material benefits and rationality, especially when it comes to their own interests, embodies the so-called smart consciousness in Shanghai culture. Shanghai culture rests not on a kind of refined egotism but on a practical rationalism. In addition, the tradition of Shanghai citizens’ sense of autonomy can be traced back to modern historical memory. The historical Concession culture had some characteristics of autonomy, and its governance showed the characteristics of ‘small government and large society’ of the West. Therefore, the modern sense of civil autonomy of ‘integration of China and foreign countries, sharing of authority and responsibility’ (Ma and Liu Reference Ma and Liu2011) has left its traces in the residents of Shanghai. And this encourages Shanghai citizens to get used to relying on themselves rather than on the local government when they face any problem or crisis, and facilitates the community to fight the epidemic independently.
In essence, social governance during the epidemic should be a two-way subjective practice through the process of two-way objectification. One is the subject of governance with ‘government leading and social participation’ as the basic framework, and the other is the subject of the people as the goal and beneficiary of governance activities. Both are aimed at coping with and overcoming the epidemic and safeguarding people’s life and health. To effectively fight Covid-19, more routine urban management is necessary. Shanghai has formed a systematic linkage mechanism, including decision-makers, professionals and the social masses. Among these, the Shanghai cultural gene is of great significance for Shanghai’s prevention and control of the epidemic. The informal system determines the efficiency of urban governance. The ‘hard core’ of urban governance in the city lies in the culture of Shanghainese.
Conclusion
The Shanghai model of fighting the Covid-19 epidemic demonstrates the logic of absorbing social organization into the state’s power system and bringing the state back to grass-roots society (Guo and Zhang Reference Guo and Zhang2018). On the other hand, it reflects the unique modernity of Shanghai’s interweaving cosmopolitan and local characteristics. ‘If we take Shanghai as a window of China, the so-called “Shanghai modernity” with many colonial heritages and “Westernization” phenomena should be regarded as one of the typical examples of alternative modernity in China’ (Wang Reference Wang2019). High risk and mobility have become important features of society in the context of globalization. Local epidemics and regional events easily evolve into global public health events (Fang et al. Reference Fang, Sake, Dan, Song, Xu, Zhou, Richardus and Wu2009). The global epidemic of Covid-19 has proved this again, and shown the urgent need for global public health governance. To achieve good global public health governance, it is necessary to promote the positive interaction between global and local ideological resources, as ‘Universal scientific knowledge is originally mixed and transnational’ (McCook Reference McCook2013). Global health and epidemic prevention should not only pay attention to the progress of global science, technology and medical knowledge, but also to the flexibility and initiative of ‘local knowledge’. Localization, together with globalization, configures the governance model of Shanghai, which is characterized by a multi-scalar governance structure based on community grids, with the help of professionalism, medical elites and big data. Shanghai’s local culture, as a kind of informal governance tool, also plays an important role. Therefore, the Shanghai anti-epidemic model has great value for the global governance of infectious diseases.
Acknowledgements
This article is funded by the National Social Science Foundation Project ‘Research on Modern Shanghai Urban Writing from the Perspective of Emotional Geography’ (19BZW134); Shanghai Social Science Planning Project ‘Research on Aesthetic Urbanism in Shanghai Literature in the 1930s’ (2018BWY015) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities ‘A Study on the Legal Mechanism of Managing Public Health Emergencies’. The authors are grateful to Wang Ning, Hu Jieren, Wu Xiaokun and Ye Chao for their assistance in publishing this article.
About the Authors
Ye Zhudi is a special researcher of the School of Humanities of Shanghai Normal University and also Editor-in-Chief of Exploration and Free Views. His research focuses on urban culture, and modern and contemporary Chinese literature. His edited works include Modernization and Trans-Modernization: Revaluation of the Centennial Value of the New Culture Movement, and 40 Years of one Person: Memoirs of the Scholars of the Republic, and his articles have appeared in such Chinese journals as Social Science Front, Journal of Social Sciences, Academic and others.
Yang Yicheng is an editor of Exploration and Free Views. His research focuses on European history, international relations, and Shanghai urban history.
Sun Guanhao is an editor of Exploration and Free Views, and a special researcher of the Youth Education Collaborative Innovation Center of Shanghai Normal University. His research focuses on the sociology of law.
