In China, there’s recently been an increase in dissatisfaction toward the government among the younger generations. This has in turn caused waves of migration and greater societal resistance toward the decision makers. What has led to this, and why is this happening now?
To begin with, censorship in China seems to be growing more and more online, although the government can’t quite seem to stop the curiosity and inventiveness of the younger generations. Using VPNs to access media from the outside world and using code language to talk about censored topics are some of the most common ways people get around the harsh bans put out by the government, and to catch a glimpse of the world beyond the Great Firewall.
To openly express opinions about sensitive topics, euphemisms are broadly used in place of banned words, with one of the first being the chinese equivalent of “harmonious” (和), which was used to replace occurrences of the word “censorship”. The reason behind this is that back in 2004, when the Chinese Communist party first launched their plan about a controlled internet space, they made it clear that this was a part of the goal to achieve a “harmonious society”. Hence, when the word “censorship” was eventually prohibited, people just replaced it with “harmonious”.
Later on this word was also banned, and as a result the public started referring to censorship by the word for “river crab”. Undoubtedly, having to go to these lengths just to express certain opinions eventually becomes exhausting, and the conflict between the government and its citizens can only be seen as a never ending cycle of banning words and new euphemisms emerging to replace them. At the same time, having witnessed the freedom behind China’s many “walls” through VPNs or other means, it’s no wonder the younger generations are starting to think that the grass is greener on the other side.
Today’s college graduates are also struggling with high unemployment, with 1 in 5 graduates lacking a job. Some young adults therefore take on jobs below their qualifications, settling for “whatever they can get”, while others simply stay at home, not working at all. Regardless, those who find work outside of their educational sector oftentimes receive criticism and displeasure from family and friends, causing even more distress and feelings of self-doubt.
This has led to major dissatisfaction across the country, especially among the younger demographic, where people are questioning whether it was worth it to get a higher education in the first place. Why dedicate so much hard work on something that doesn’t reap any benefits? Seeing that the job opportunities and salaries are better abroad has only made it more attractive to try to find work elsewhere.
Another major event that has impacted society and the public’s view of the Communist party was their strategy during the Covid pandemic. By implementing a zero-Covid policy, the leaders aimed to completely eradicate the virus in the country. However, restrictions were implemented at such a scale, that large parts of the population couldn’t leave home for long periods of time, leaving them unable to purchase daily necessities and keeping them from working at all.
The reaction the party later received was quite the opposite from what they were expecting: instead of praise, they received serious backlash and major dissatisfaction from the people, especially those in urban areas. This even went as far as protests in the streets and open criticism of these restrictions, with a peak being reached with the White Paper Protests at the end of 2022.
The actions that the leadership of the Communist party took during the Covid-19 pandemic caused a shift in the way a lot of locals viewed the state, no longer believing they were striving toward welfare for all. The previously overlooked flaws of the government were, because of the extremity of the situation, made a lot more visible during this time, and even after the end of the pandemic it’s been hard to regain the trust and support of the public.
Having caught a glimpse of the world beyond the Wall, and dreaming of different lives, they strive to reach for job security and freedom.
↓ Image Attributions
“red Kanji text” by kiryl // Licensed under Unsplash
