Young and jobless: Is the government letting down China's Generation Z?

Best of the Spectator

The Spectator

News Commentary, News, Daily News, Society & Culture

4.4 • 785 Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2023

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Hidden in March’s GDP figures was a shocking statistic – a fifth of Chinese 16 to 24 year olds are out of work. This is a near record high, and the economic background to a fresh wave of disillusionment among China’s young.

It has led to the creation of a new meme - you’ve heard of lying flat, but young people are now comparing themselves to a Republican-era literary character, Kong Yiji.

On this episode, Cindy Yu is joined by the journalist Karoline Kan, author of Under Red Skies: The Life and Times of a Chinese Millennial. They talk about the Kong Yiji trend, why prospects are so thin for the most educated Chinese generation, and what this all means for the government's claims to economic competence.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	To celebrate the coronation of King Charles III, you can subscribe to the Spectator and get the next 10 weeks for the price of one.
0:05.8	Not only that, but will also send you a commemorative Spectator mug absolutely free.
0:09.5	To claim this very special offer, go to www.cptator.org slash Crown. Hello and welcome to Chinese Whispers with me, Cindy Yu.
0:27.6	Every episode I'll be talking to journalists, experts and long-time China watchers about the latest in Chinese politics, society and more.
0:35.6	There'll be a smattering of history to catch you up on the background knowledge and some
0:39.3	context as well.
0:40.4	How did the Chinese see these issues?
0:43.8	Hidden in China's March GDP figures was a shocking statistic.
0:48.4	A fifth of Chinese 16 to 24-year-olds are currently out of work.
0:52.9	This is near a record high, and the economic background
0:56.1	to a fresh wave of disillusionment among China's young. It has led to the creation of a new
1:01.9	internet meme. You've heard of lying flat, but young people are now comparing themselves
1:06.7	to a Republican-era literary character Kong Yich Ji. The government is not happy about this.
1:13.4	On this episode, I'm joined by the journalist Caroline Kahn,
1:16.6	author of Under Red Skies, The Life and Times of a Chinese Millennial.
1:20.9	Hi, Caroline, welcome back to Chinese Whispers.
1:23.4	Hi, Cindy. Thank you for inviting me to your program.
1:26.4	So the last time you were on the show was
1:28.3	two years ago. We were talking about lying flat, a trend that's quite well known now. But a lot
1:33.8	has changed since then, especially with the pandemic situation in China. So that's why I wanted
1:38.1	to get you back on the show and do an update on the situation with young people in the country
1:44.0	at the moment.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Spectator, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Spectator and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.