“Kill the chicken to scare the monkey”: Heavy penalties, excessive COVID-19 control mechanisms, and legal consciousness in China

Abstract

This study analyses the legal consciousness of Chinese citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic when the authoritarian state invoked heavy penalties to deter noncompliance with its excessive COVID-19 restrictions. China used the approach of “killing the chicken to scare the monkey,” publicly punishing those who violated restrictions in order to deter noncompliance. This article explains why ordinary citizens supported this selective application of the law, as well as how the possibility of being the “chicken” contributed to their compliance (or noncompliance) with excessive COVID-19 restrictions. It suggests that the uncertainty and unpredictability of law in the authoritarian state bred fear, which then led to compliance, regardless of the lack of procedural fairness. People's dissatisfaction with the rules, however, led them to tolerate and even support the noncompliance of people they trusted.