The last big news coming from China was about President Xi Jinping talking about cracking heads up and spilling blood on the Great Wall of Steel. This one is comparatively encouraging news. People coming together to display dissent (virtually or on the streets) is good news for democracies in the rest of the world.
The Chinese government has been wrestling with a rather novel protest from its young citizens. The millennials are taking part in the powerful 'lying flat' (tangping) movement, which completely challenges and defies the long-held narrative of working hard. Beijing is most definitely worried. The protests are against the strict 996 culture in China. Which means working from 9 a.m to 9p.m and six days a week.
Chinese Millennials put their foot down
The movement is a result of fears shared by most Chinese youngsters that they won't end up any better than their parents. It has also been triggered by the realisation that employees are working harder like machines on a twelve-hour shift, but the prices are rising faster than incomes.
It all started with a social media post that went viral in no time. People joined in and showed their approval of the concept (tangping) by sharing pictures of themselves lying flat. In a poll on Weibo (Chinese version of Twitter) reportedly, more than 60 per cent of the 240,000 respondents said that tangping was their idea of a good life. Messages with hashtags tangping have attracted about 200m views.
Chinese statistics don't add up
Several local media reports profiling these protests also point out that the unemployment rate among those aged between 16-24 in China is 13.1 per cent. Last year itself, more than 20 crore youngsters graduated in China, ready to take work. A generation ago, the authorities and the governments laid out a different but simple narrative of work hard. The new movement refuses to lap up the established norms and prosperity narrative.
What next, censorship
When faced with the fury of people and not prepared to acknowledge or deal with it, Beijing is doing what most regimes resort to -- knee jerk reaction comprising censorship. Censors have deleted a Tangping group with more than 9,000 members on one of the popular internet forums. The authorities have barred posts on tangping on other forums as well, as per an article in New York Times. The state owned media has labelled 'tangping' as shameful.
Not the first protest against 996 culture
In 2019 too, several protests erupted against the 996 practice, at the time, sparking debates on labour rights, productivity and the future of Chinses businesses. Anti-capitalist tirades and memes on several social issues going viral in China are nothing new. Youngsters have been simmering and looking for ways of registering their protest with the authorities.
