A comparative study of public support for the zero-COVID policy in Beijing, Taipei and Singapore: The role of media attention and perceived social impact

Abstract

Asian governments employed drastically different strategies—zero-infection versus living with coronavirus disease (COVID-19)—to balance control of the global pandemic and minimize disruption. This study examines inter-society differences in public responses to their government’s anti-pandemic policies of zero-COVID strategy in China and neighboring societies. Three parallel telephone surveys were conducted in summer 2022 with a combined sample of 3,106 respondents in Beijing, Singapore, and Taipei. Findings provide a snapshot of public opinion toward zero-COVID policy in the late stage of the pandemic. Levels of strictness of pandemic-control measures across the 3 societies were found to be related to the public’s attention to the policy, its perceived social impact, and the extent to which they would support the policy. Furthermore, whether public attention enhanced or diminished the perception of its impact or support, and how these relationships changed depended on local circumstances. Chinese respondents in Beijing perceived their government’s unwavering zero-tolerance policy as having a low impact and tended to support the strict policy. Singaporeans living under the co-living policy viewed the zero-case strategy as disruptive and were less willing to support it.