Many of the people around me have tested positive for omicron. In Chinese, the word for positive is 阳性 (yáng xìng), and the pun is with 羊 (yáng) or “lamb.” In keeping with the animated pandemic, this means that most memes involve 🐑 puns. During the lockdowns, one of the most popular phone games was 羊了个羊, a game that can be played on WeChat. The game is similar to a 3-tile puzzle and indeed, some say its a rip off of the original Three Tiles. At any rate, tens of millions have played, posted about playing, and analyzed the play while locked down. Now, that people actually have joined the omicron herd, there is more talk about how to convalesce and take care of oneself. And there’s the rub: party members are being asked to put their bodies on the line. Below, I’ve translated a recent article from the headline news app (今日头条). The gist: a true Party member puts their body on the line for the good of the masses:

However, many people still doubt the officials and experts, causing their mental condition to define, depression, crowd purchasing legal and illegal medicines, and extorting and cheating. This has seriously impacted the collectively well-being and normal social order.

In response, party members and leading cadres must bravely step forward, don’t fear a positive, dare to be positive, be the leading “sun”. [The actual character for positive 阳 is the character for “sun” or “sunny side” from the expression yin-yang. Yin 阴 is therefore a negative.]

Ordinary citizens can believe that it’s better to have a “late positive” than an “early positive.” However, Party cadres should have the revolutionary, heroic will to “do whatever needs to be done, ready at any moment to test positive.”

With respect to a “positive,” Party cadres must set the standard, be a model, showing the masses that there is nothing scary about a “positive,” even while providing the masses with experience in recuperation; this is what it means for a cadre to have exemplary character and great integrity.