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Cross posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17893195

China is now a country where a high-school handyman has a master's degree in physics; a cleaner is qualified in environmental planning; a delivery driver studied philosophy, and a PhD graduate from the prestigious Tsinghua University ends up applying to work as an auxiliary police officer.

These are real cases in a struggling economy - and it is not hard to find more like them.

[...]

China is churning out millions of university graduates every year but, in some fields, there just aren't enough jobs for them.

The economy has been struggling and stalling in major sectors, including real estate and manufacturing.

Youth unemployment had been nudging 20% before the way of measuring the figures was altered to make the situation look better. In August 2024, it was still 18.8%. The latest figure for November has come down to 16.1%.

Many university graduates who've found it hard to get work in their area of selected study are now doing jobs well below what they're qualified for, leading to criticism from family and friends.

[...]

Chinese graduates are being forced to change their perceptions regarding what might be considered "a good position", Professor Zhang Jun from the City University of Hong Kong says.

In what might be seen as "a warning sign" for young people, "many companies in China, including many tech companies, have laid off quite a lot of staff", she adds.

She also says that significant areas of the economy, which had once been big employers of graduates, are offering sub-standard conditions, and decent opportunities in these fields are disappearing altogether.

[...]

But many fear they'll never land a decent job and may have to settle for a role unlike what they had imagined.

The lack of confidence in the trajectory of the Chinese economy means young people often don't know what the future will hold for them.

[...]

[Edit title for clarity.]

all 17 comments
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[–] jarfil@beehaw.org 2 points 1 day ago
[–] reksas@sopuli.xyz 6 points 2 days ago (3 children)

must be awful being chinese. no matter how good you are at anything there are millions just as good or better than you that you have to compete against. Not much better outside china either but it must be awful there.

[–] optissima@lemmy.ml 17 points 2 days ago (1 children)

How is this different than US or any other country?

[–] reksas@sopuli.xyz 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

there are billions of people living there. not necessarily different, just on different scale.

[–] knokelmaat@beehaw.org 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Don't the amount of available jobs scale too?

I feel like this problem would be the same if China was a tenth the size, same goes for US and other countries. It's a systemic issue, where the ratios of workers and jobs are wrong and unsocial.

[–] reksas@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Might be, but based on news like this it doesnt seem to be going so well there.

[–] knokelmaat@beehaw.org 4 points 22 hours ago

"based on news like this"

I think you're spot on there. Not saying that the BBC is untrustworthy, but there is always a bias in every news source. Especially when it comes to criticizing foreign policy versus local policy.

I am not disputing that it is not going well there. I'm just saying that similar issues are present in a lot of western countries. I am of course only talking about the subject of this article. If you look at how authoritarian the gouvernement is, stuff does get clearly worse in China compared to most western countries.

I was gonna say sounds just like here.

[–] fishabel@discuss.online 13 points 2 days ago (1 children)

But at least everyone loves being in China and there is absolutely no genocide of any kind, right? …right?

[–] OprahsedCreature@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

By this definition of genocide, if Uyghers are being genocided then so are black Americans. So what are you doing about that plank in your eye?

[–] fishabel@discuss.online 1 points 6 hours ago

So much censorship.

[–] thelucky8@beehaw.org 3 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago)

https://beehaw.org/u/OprahsedCreature@lemmy.ml

China has created a large system of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance. Approximately one million Uyghurs have been imprisoned in detention centers, for reasons as simple as practicing their religion, having international contacts or communications, or attending a western university [...]

Some have reported experiencing torture and sexual violence [in detention camps]. Those who are detained are often unable to communicate with or receive visits from their families. Children whose parents are detained are placed in government-run adoption centers, sometimes far from their homes and families.

The Chinese government uses sophisticated technology to monitor people throughout the country. The goal is to spot any perceived infractions, such as connections with people outside of China or expressions of faith. Being caught can result in detention and/or disappearance. Uyghurs are also being watched closely by their neighbors and state agents in their communities.

Under the “Unite as One Family” program, the Chinese government has stationed an estimated one million Han Chinese citizens in Uyghur households for mandatory homestays to monitor and report on their activities and ensure that they are conforming to Han Chinese rather than Uyghur cultural practices. Uyghur families cannot refuse this in-person monitoring.

The [Chinese] state began imposing harsh penalties for violations of birth limits [in Xinjiang]. It also implemented an aggressive campaign of mass sterilization and intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD) implantation programs. [...] Leaked government documents show that violations of birth limits are the most common reason Uyghur women are placed in a detention camp. Women have testified to being sterilized without their consent while in detention. Other women have testified that they were threatened with detention if they refused sterilization or IUD implantation procedures. In such a coercive environment, it is unlikely that any Uyghur woman can be said to have voluntarily consented to these procedures.

China has a long history of imposing forced labor on Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Researchers have documented a network of factories being built within and near detention camps in Xinjiang. Leaked government documents reveal that working in these factories is often a condition for release from the camps. Uyghurs have no real choice but to work in these factories, often for low or no wages. Uyghurs are also being transferred in large groups to work at factories throughout China.

Source.

Tihs is just a TINY list of atrocities, and similar things happen in Tibet as well (you find a lot of evidence from reliable source).

[Edit typo.]