In multiple cities across China, locals have emptied store shelves, stockpiling rice and cooking oil as fears of food shortages accelerate. Mr. Li, a resident of Ezhou, a city in Hubei Province, told the Chinese-language Epoch Times that locals have been rushing to buy rice for the past two days. It’s the same scene in other cities in Hubei, including Wuhan, Huanggang, and Yichang, according to social media and Chinese media reports. Officials have stepped in to try to ease the panic. On March 31, the market regulation bureau of the municipal government in Ezhou urged, in a statement on...