Guangdong province in southern China has been hit by a wave of chikungunya fever cases, with over 10,000 people affected so far.
Chikungunya (in Chinese: 基孔肯雅热) is a mosquito-borne disease. Symptoms include fever, muscle and joint pain, nausea, and a rash.
But it's rarely fatal.
The combination of heat, humidity and heavy rain in Guangdong this summer has created ideal conditions for mosquitoes to thrive and spread the disease.
The provincial government of Guangdong is on a war-like footing.
It’s pushing for an "all-public" (全民) response to eradicating mosquitos. On August 2, Wang Weizhong, Guangdong's governor, said eradication efforts should:
"Target the source with precision while mobilizing collective prevention and control for efficient coordination in the war of annihilation on mosquitoes."
要聚焦源头、精准施策、群防群控，高效联动打好防蚊灭蚊歼灭战。
That means eliminating mosquito breeding grounds — stagnant pools of water.
From around houses, on rooftops and terraces, in courtyards and gardens, in underground garages, and in parks and green spaces, the people of Guangdong are to leave no pools of water available for mosquitos to breed in. And they’ve even been advised to overturn pots and jars, clear ditches, and fill in low-lying areas.
But things are starting to go too far.
In some parts of Guangdong, there’s strong criticism of the heavy-handedness of the approach. It’s reminiscent of the prevention and control measures (防疫措施) people endured during COVID, including the resurrection of surveillance and reporting measures.
In the city of Foshan (佛山), at the centre of the outbreak, authorities announced that all pharmacies were required to report the sale of certain over-the-counter drugs used for treating fevers, such as Ibuprofen, which now required "ID checks" (药店实名登记) to track the spread of fever symptoms:
"Buying cold medicine feels like filling out the criminal register."
“买个感冒药，感觉像登记罪犯信息。” [1]
Health authorities there have penalised businesses, including hotels and restaurants, for failing to promptly eliminate mosquito breeding sites.
And teams of volunteers were even deployed to seal drain covers on the roads of Foshan.
A fine steel mesh was applied to drains to stop recently-hatched mosquitoes escaping from below. But when heavy rains came days later, the drains were quickly blocked by leaves and litter caught in the mesh which led to widespread flooding and traffic chaos.
Related
The measures have become increasingly intrusive.
In other affected cities people have returned home after work to find their locks had been changed — unable to get into their own homes because no one was there to cooperate with door-to-door “stagnant water inspections”.
In the port city of Zhanjiang (湛江), there were reports of a uniformed police officer forcing his way into the home of a single mother in the middle of the night while she was working a night shift. Without the mother's presence or consent, the officer took blood samples from her two children—a boy and a girl—who were sleeping at the time. The children had reportedly been bitten by mosquitoes.
That story was widely circulated on social media.
Images also circulated online showing rooftop gardens with pot plants completely removed and pots smashed. In some gardens and green spaces, even trees were cut down, and large diggers deployed to remove any vegetation which were deemed to be “high risk” mosquito breeding sites.
Heavy machinery for mosquitoes? Brilliant strategy, just like using a cannon to kill a fly.
重型机械来灭蚊，真有种高射炮打蚊子的既视感。
In one case, an entire house was demolished to “eradicate” pools of water from inside. It was reportedly derelict and unsafe, but nonetheless, the owner was not consulted before their house was knocked down.
Comments online poked fun at how ridiculous and over the top things had become:
“A few years ago, you had to wear a mask in public. Are they now going to ask us to wear mosquito nets?
I suggest manufacturers produce portable mosquito nets, which would be the best and most cost-effective solution, without wasting taxpayers’ money across the entire city and province.”
以前出门要求戴口罩，以后出门是不是可以要求戴蚊帐？建议厂家出个移动蚊帐，这样最好也最省钱，不用全市全省范围去劳民伤财的。[1]
Images on social media also showed streets, districts, and green spaces of cities shrouded in clouds of insecticide as daily large-scale spraying got underway in affected areas.
But this is backfiring too.
While the chemicals do kill mosquitoes, and there are reports of short-term reduction of mosquito numbers, but they also eliminate their natural predators like dragonflies and spiders.
Mosquitoes have much shorter reproduction cycles than their predators, so when the new generation of mosquitoes emerges, they face no natural enemies. So now, in some places, mosquito populations are even higher than before.
So, who will win? The people or the mosquitoes?
That’s what we’re exploring this week!
Favourite Five
1. 天敌 tiān dí
natural enemy, predator
蜻蜓、蜘蛛等蚊子天敌一起被消灭了，破坏了生物防治的基础 - Dragonflies, spiders, and other natural predators of mosquitoes were eradicated, which undermined the basis of biological control. [2]
2. 一刀切 yì dāo qiē
one-size-fits-all approach
风险出现，压力传导，一刀切执行 - When risks arise, pressure is passed down and a one-size-fits-all approach is enforced. [1]
3. 兴师动众 xīng shī dòng zhòng
to mobilise a large group, to make a big fuss
天台的花园，把积水清理了就可以了，有必要如此兴师动众吗？ - For the rooftop garden, you can simply clean up the stagnant water. Is it really necessary to make such a big fuss? [2]
4. 杯水车薪 bēi shuǐ chē xīn
a drop in the bucket, totally inadequate
有一个主要问题就是无法杀灭珠江的蚊子，放点鱼也是杯水车薪 - One major problem is that it’s impossible to eliminate the mosquitoes in the Pearl River, and introducing some mosquito-eating fish is a little more than a drop in the bucket. [2]
5. 高射炮打蚊子 gāo shè pào dǎ wén zi
using a cannon to kill a fly, overkill
重型机械来灭蚊，真有种高射炮打蚊子的既视感 - Heavy machinery for mosquitoes? Brilliant strategy, just like using a cannon to kill a fly. [2]
More: we explore the origins of this phrase in the Sinica Phrase of the Week on Sunday.
🎧RTM Podcast Preview
This week on the RTM Advanced podcast, we go deep into phrases meaning “go over the top” and how to use them:
“Mobilise a large group (for a trivial task)” (兴师动众)
“As if facing a great enemy” (如临大敌)
“Bureaucratic overreach” (层层加码)
“Using a cannon to kill a fly” (高射炮打蚊子)
Tune in at 7 minutes where we break down what they mean, how native speakers use them, and how you can use them in real conversations.
Consuming the Conversation
💡 Ready to get inspired to bridge the gap to real-world fluency? 💡
In every RTM Advanced post you unlock content and tools to inspire you, and help you get fluent.
This week week we teach you essential phrases to say “gone too far”, “bizarre”, and “futile”.
So, ready to finally get started and wave good bye to that nagging rusty feeling?
Let’s jump in👇
Useful words
6. 涝 lào
flooding, water-logging
佛山网友说大部分路面都涝了 - A netizen in Foshan said that most of the roads were flooded. [1]
Related:
内涝 nèi lào - flooding (in a city)
7. 变味 biàn wèi
to change in nature, to take a wrong turn
