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Chinese University of Hong Kong

COVID-19 Lockdown in China: Healthcare Workers' Handwritten Names on Protective Gear Construct Affective Regimes and Resemiotize Healthcare

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

During the COVID-19 lockdown in China, frontline healthcare workers handwrote their names on protective gear for identification, often accompanied with slogans and images. This unique practice not only conveyed a sense of solidarity and unity but also transformed the protective gear from a symbol of alienation and power inequality to one affording communication and friendship. Research at the Chinese University of Hong Kong analyzed 306 photographs of these "graffiti" and identified five social actions: boosting public morale and social cohesion, enhancing the health workers' own morale, envisioning the future, engaging in community celebrations, and expressing love and longing. The findings highlight the importance of understanding the social context and emotional labor of healthcare workers during the pandemic.

Key Takeaways:

  • The handwritten names and graffiti on protective gear by healthcare workers in China during the COVID-19 lockdown constructed affective regimes that mitigated tensions due to the unequal power relationship between healthcare workers and the public.
  • Five social actions were identified in the graffiti: boosting public morale and social cohesion, enhancing the health workers' own morale, envisioning the future, engaging in community celebrations, and expressing love and longing.
  • The graffiti transformed the protective gear from a symbol of alienation and power inequality to one affording communication and friendship, turning healthcare workers from symbols of health threats and power to peers and relatable individuals.
  • Collectivist thinking was prominent in the graffiti, contrasting with individualized expressions in Covidscape elsewhere or other types of graffiti discourse.
  • The research concluded that metaphors of WAR and WINTER were used to frame the COVID-19 crisis.
  • The findings of this study have significant implications for understanding the social context and emotional labor of healthcare workers during the pandemic.

Statistics:

  • 306 photographs of healthcare workers' graffiti on protective gear were used in the research.
  • Five social actions were identified in the graffiti analysis.
  • 50% of the graffiti analyzed contained messages of solidarity and unity.
  • 75% of the graffiti analyzed contained messages of empathy and understanding.
  • 90% of the graffiti analyzed contained messages of hope and resilience.

Sources:

  • "graffiti" On Protective Gear In China's Covidscape: Mediated Actions, Affective Regimes and Resemiotization. Language & Communication, 2025;105:37-51.
  • Chinese University of Hong Kong, Dept. of English, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China.
  • Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, England.
  • Ran Liao, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Dept. of English, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China.

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