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Scorching the earth
Imagine an underdog who grips its opponent as they wrestle to the death, eventually tumbling off a cliff and crashing down in mutual destruction.
That’s laam caau (攬炒, pronounced “lahm tsow”), the strategy that a sizable fraction of Hong Kong protesters think is the only way they stand a fighting chance against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The phrase, which literally translates to “embrace and fry” in Cantonese, is borrowed from poker, where it means making your opponent suffer as much as you do. Some call it a scorched earth, or an “if we burn, you burn with us” philosophy. At its core, it’s the belief that the existing political framework is so rigged that operating under the current rules of engagement, as dictated by China, will only lead to defeat.
Laam caau entails pursuing action in different spheres of influence (link in Chinese): street protests, the local legislature, and international diplomatic outreach. It can also mean favoring small pro-democracy businesses, with each component reinforcing the other.
After tolerating last year’s large-scale protests without sending in troops, Beijing took advantage of the world’s distraction with the pandemic to swiftly dismantle Hong Kong’s remaining freedoms. In a culmination of those steps, China’s top legislature this week passed a national security law, entirely bypassing the territory’s own legislative procedures.
The law is set to change Hong Kong in exactly the way the protesters feared—yet many of them almost welcome it, willing China to intensify its crackdown in hopes of triggering international retaliation. China appears to think it can call the world’s bluff.
Now that the chips are down, where will they fall? Laam caau supporters want to see the card table overturned entirely, while moderates tend to see it as a recklessly naïve approach that will bring no gains—and may even cause losses. But the laam caau faction—which feels that a scorched earth is the only fertile ground for change—may well win even the staunchest moderates over in time. —Mary Hui
Five things on Quartz we especially liked
What may come. The pandemic has made me realize that we rely heavily on an assumption that life as we know it will tool along on a path that makes sense. Quartz’s New Normal project—which asked more than 50 experts in various industries what any of us might expect in five years—shines a light on many possible near-futures as we struggle to get a glimpse of what humanity’s path might look like. The sheer breadth of the answers makes one thing certain: Nothing is certain. —Susan Howson, news editor
Failed healing. Shortness of breath. Blood clots. Extreme fatigue. Covid-19 survivors are turning to online support groups to discuss ongoing symptoms that their doctors can’t explain. As scientists sprint to understand how to treat SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease, Katherine Ellen Foley details new concerns about its potentially devastating long-term impacts. —Jackie Bischof, deputy membership editor
Going remote. A few years ago, the sky seemed the limit when high-profile investors, including Mark Zuckerberg and Serena Williams, backed Andela, the Africa-focused developer training and outsourcing platform. But as Yomi Kazeem writes, Andela is now closing all its offices from Lagos to San Francisco, and significantly shifting its business model to be more remote. The shift can be attributed in part to the Covid lockdowns, but has its roots in wider business struggles. —Yinka Adegoke, Africa editor
Political evolution is on the ballot. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Americans voted by choosing a paper ticket with their candidate of choice and dropping it in a polling box. I loved going down this rabbit hole with Annalisa Merelli to learn how the tickets’ distinctive designs reflect the political evolution of the US—from the racist illustrations chosen by candidates who supported the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act to the towering tree chosen as the symbol of the party opposed to expanding slavery in the West. —Sarah Todd, senior reporter
Young workers miss the office. The millennial and Gen Z staffers who asked for more flexibility at their jobs are the ones most yearning for a more traditional work situation during the pandemic. Cassie Werber’s great feature (✦ Quartz member exclusive) on how young people are feeling right now in comparison to their older peers succinctly highlights the different reasons why. For these workers, the return to the office might actually spark joy. —Karen K. Ho, global finance and economics reporter
Fun fact
Home offices are fairly old-school. Having a working space inside a dwelling was de rigueur until the Industrial Revolution shifted the locus of work from the home to the factory. Affluent Englishmen began establishing “Victorian libraries” in their city houses, which in turn became a template for today’s home office. What goes around, comes around—we’re back in a new era of home offices, and it’s unlikely to end anytime soon.
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For members: Leveling the commuting field
Innovation is supposed to improve our quality of life, but, as the history of transportation shows us, it often fails to consider large segments of the population. Structural inequalities and discrimination have dictated who could afford new commutes to the suburbs, and who was stuck living with dubious bus or train service—at best.
In South Africa, for example, a sprawling informal minibus system arose out of a disregard by the apartheid government for the commuting needs of the country’s Black-majority population. In the US, blatant racism has always been a part of the transit story: Consider the day Rosa Parks demanded change and dignity for all Black Americans on a public bus, or the damaging legacy of white flight, or the prevailing perception of cars as the symbol of individualism and success.
In this week’s field guide, we looked at how the coronavirus pandemic is providing a unique opportunity to correct imbalances by reshaping the way we move through cities.
✦ Reshape the way you move through your week by trying a Quartz membership (now on sale for 50% off!) for seven days, free! ✦
Five things from elsewhere that made us smarter
Does this mean we can stop saying “girlboss?” Leigh Stein’s novel Self Care, which came out this week, satirizes a female-founded wellness company where abusive bosses distort feminist values. Writing for Gen, the author heralded “the end of the girlboss,” and with it the idea that white female entrepreneurial ambition equals social progress. As leaders from Refinery29, The Reformation, and Away, among others, have stepped down and/or been chastened, Stein marks another chapter in the girlboss’s decline. “So why do I find myself bracing to find out how anti-racism becomes the branding for her next for-profit venture?” she asks. —Jenni Avins, senior lifestyle reporter
“The right kind of mess.” Scientists once thought pure strands of RNA were needed before DNA could emerge, but a messy chimera of two might have been the secret recipe. Jordana Cepelewicz’s piece for Quanta magazine explores how the primordial soup yielded our genetic code, and how it could upend the way we think about the progression of evolution. —Michael J. Coren, senior climate reporter
A haunting piece of protest music. In “The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed,” Joel Thompson arranged the dying words of seven Black men killed by police into a classical composition based on Haydn’s “The Seven Last Words of Christ.” Originally composed in 2014, the piece gained renewed attention after Minneapolis police killed George Floyd. The composition closes on the last words of Floyd, Eric Garner, and several others who have died in police custody: “I can’t breathe.” —Nicolás Rivero, tech reporter
Discrimination after disasters: After hurricanes and other catastrophes, the US Small Business Administration often steps in to get shops and homeowners back on their feet. The agency has given out $40 billion in disaster loans since 2001—with majority-white neighborhoods seeing applications approved at nearly twice the rate of Black neighborhoods, according to an analysis by E&E News investigative reporter Thomas Frank. The discrepancies can amount to millions of dollars after a single storm. —Tim McDonnell, climate reporter
Every death has a backstory. Each coronavirus case is a snapshot of life, and the specific set of circumstances that led that person to becoming ill. For STAT, Eric Boodman documents the Covid-19 case and death of Marie Deus, a hospital kitchen worker in Boston. The hospital had worried she picked up the virus at work, but further investigation found that it was likely a product of her living situation: a tiny home in Boston’s historically Haitian neighborhood. Boodman weaves together the story of how systemic racism in a pandemic can lead to specific fatalities, despite being such massive, intangible forces themselves. —Katherine Ellen Foley, science and health reporter
Our best wishes for a relaxing but thought-filled weekend. Please send any news, comments, gripping trailers, and playlist addition suggestions to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Weekend Brief was brought to you by Mary Hui and Susan Howson.