Disillusioned office workers.docx
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Disillusioned office workers.docx
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Disillusionedofficeworkers
Disillusionedofficeworkers
China’slosers
Amidspreadingprosperity,agenerationofself-styledalso-ransemerges
Apr19th2014 | SHANGHAI | Fromtheprintedition
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ZHUGUANG,a25-year-oldproducttester,projectscasualcoolinhisredAdidasjacketandcanvasshoes.Hesportstheshadowywispsofamoustacheandgoatee,asifhehastheambitiontogrowabeardbutnottheability.Onpaperheisoneofthemillionsofup-and-comingwinnersoftheChineseeconomy:
auniversitygraduate,theonlychildoffactoryworkersinShanghai,workingforLenovo,oneofChina’sleadingcomputer-makers.
ButMrZhuconsidershimselfaloser,notawinner.Heearns4,000yuan($650)amonthaftertaxandsayshefeelslikeafacelessdroneatwork.Heeatsattheofficecanteenandgoeshomeatnighttoarented,20-square-metre(215-square-foot)roominasharedflat,whereheplaysonlinegames.Hedoesnothaveagirlfriendoranyprospectoffindingone.“Lackofconfidence”,heexplainswhenaskedwhynot.Likemillionsofothers,hemockinglycallshimself,inevocativemodernstreetslang,a diaosi,thetermforaloserthatliterallytranslatesas“malepubichair”.Figurativelyitisadeclarationofpowerlessnessinaneconomywhereitisgettingharderfortheregularguytosucceed.Callinghimselfbythisderisivenicknameisawayofcryingout,“likeGandhi”,saysMrZhu,onlypartlyinjest.“Itisaquietformofprotest.”
Inthissection
∙China’slosers
∙Scooped
Reprints
Relatedtopics
∙China
∙Beijing
∙Shanghai
Callingyourselfa diaosi hasalsobecomeaproudstatementofsolidaritywiththemassesagainsttheperceivedcorruptionofthewealthy.Theworditselfenteredthelanguageonlyrecently,appealingtoofficegruntsacrossthecountry,especiallyintheITindustry.Amostlymalespecies, diaosi areoftendaydreamerswithpoorsocialskillsandanobsessionwithonlinegaming.TheyareslightlydifferentfromJapan’smarriage-shunning“herbivore”youngmeninthatfewerofthemhavechosentheirstationinlife.Societyhaschosenitforthem,especiallywithpropertypricesclimbingwellbeyondtheirreach.Severalrecentstudiesshowthat,whileincomesacrossChinesesocietycontinuetorise,socialmobilityhasworsened.YiChenofNanjingAuditUniversityandFrankA.CowelloftheLondonSchoolofEconomicsfoundthat,since2000,peopleatthebottomofsocietyweremorelikelythaninthe1990stostaywheretheywere.“Chinahasbecomemorerigid,”theyconclude.
Anonlinevideosketchshow, “Diaosi Man”,shownonS,aninternetportal,mercilesslymocksthetribe.Sinceitsdebutin2012,theshow’sepisodeshavebeenstreamedmorethan1.5billiontimes.Inonerecentepisodeamantriestoimpresshisbeautifuldinnerdatewithhowbusyheisathisjob.Hethenreceivesaphonecallfromwork,apologeticallytakeshisleavetogototheofficeandfinallypopsupagainasawaiterwhenhisdateasksforthebill.InthesameepisodeafrustratednewdrivercursesrepeatedlyataLamborghiniinthenextlaneandscreams,“AreyoubullyingmebecauseIdon’tknowanytrafficcops?
”Inthenextsceneheisinaneckbraceandhisnoseisbroken.
MrZhusayswhatmakeshima diaosi isthatheisthesonoffactoryworkers.Heisnot fuerdai—second-generationrich—or guanerdai—thesonofpowerfulgovernmentofficials(itdoesnotescapea diaosi’snoticethatthosetwocategoriesoftenoverlap).Heandhis diaosicolleaguesfeelthat,withconnectionsorcash,theymighthaveattendedabetteruniversityandfoundabetterjob.
Withafter-taxincomeofnearly$8,000ayear,MrZhuwouldlooktomanypeopleinChinacomfortablyonhiswaytothemiddleclass.Heisamongthelowerwage-earnersatZhangjiangHi-TechParkinShanghai,butevenmanyhigherearnerscallthemselves diaosi,orrefertothemselvesas“ITlabourers”.ThoughtheirsalariesareaboveaverageeveninShanghai—whichhadChina’sthird-highestannualurbandisposableincomeperpersonin2012at40,000yuan—thecostofappearingsuccessfulisstratospheric.Afancyflatandacoolcararewellbeyondtheirreach.Theyarewageslaveswhocannothopetobe gaofushuai—tall,richandhandsome—andmarryawomanwhois baifumei—fair-skinned,richandbeautiful.
Thismightseemquitenormalforarapidlydevelopingeconomy.ButZhangYi,asociologistattheChineseAcademyofSocialSciences,agovernmentthink-tankinBeijing,saysthisdiaosi feelingofrelativedeprivationisatroublingconsequenceofChina’sgrowingwealthgap.InaninterviewdevotedtothesubjectforthewebsiteofPhoenixTelevision,aHongKongsatellitenetwork,MrZhangconcludedthatpeopleatthebottomfeelutterlyalienated.Theyfeellesshopefulthantheydidbeforeofevermovingupinlife,hesaid.
Inspiteofthis,however,theydostillrepresentamarketingopportunity.Thereare,afterall,manymoreofthemthantherearemillionaires,eventhoughitcanbedifficulttodefinethetargetmarket.AtDianping,awebsiteofferingrestaurantreviewsandconsumerdeals,SchubertYoutargetsverylow-wageworkersinsmallercities(earningabout$150to$450amonth)withcouponsandgroupdiscounts.MrYoudoesnotconsidertheITworkersofShanghaiandBeijingtobetrue diaosi.
Butsurveysshowtheybelievetheyare.LastyearAnalysysInternational,aresearchcompanyinBeijing,askedabroadcross-sectionofofficeworkersiftheysawthemselvesas diaosi.Morethan90%ofprogrammersandjournalistsandabout80%offoodandserviceindustryandmarketingworkerssaidtheydid.Thosesurveyedwholeastidentifiedwithbeingloserswerecivilservants,workingforthegovernmentortheCommunistParty.
China
Buildingthedream
By2030Chinesecitieswillbehometoabout1billionpeople.GettingurbanChinatoworkproperlyisvitaltothecountry’seconomicandpoliticalfuture,saysJamesMiles
Apr19th2014 | Fromtheprintedition
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SOMEHISTORIANSBELIEVEthatMarcoPoloneverwenttoChina.Butevenifthe13th-centuryVenetianmerchantdidnotlayeyesonthecoastalcityofHangzhouhimself,hecertainlyreflectedtheaweitinspiredinotherforeigntraderswhenhedescribeditas“beyonddisputethefinestandthenoblestintheworld”.And,“incredibleasitmayseem”,hewrote,Hangzhou(whichhecalledKinsay)wasbutoneofmorethan1,200“greatandwealthycities”insouthernChina.“Everythingappertainingtothiscityisonsovastascale…thatitisnoteasyeventoputitinwriting.”
InMarcoPolo’sdayitwastheornatepalaces,pavedroadsandmeticulouslyplannedlayoutsofChinesecitiesthatimpressedvisitors;intoday’smegacitiesitissomeoftheworld’stallestskyscrapersandlargestshoppingmalls,interlinkedbytheworld’slongestbullet-trainnetwork.AndifallgoesaccordingtotheCommunistParty’splan,thecomingtwodecadeswillevokeafewmoregasps.
Specialreport
∙Buildingthedream
∙Abillionshoppers
∙Endingapartheid
∙Emergingfromtheshadows
∙People,notpaving
∙Dreamingspire
∙Letusbreathe
∙Theurbanvoice
∙Pushingtheboundaries
Sources&acknowledgmentsReprints
Relatedtopics
∙UnitedStates
∙China
By2020thehigh-speedrailnetworkwillexpandbynearlytwo-thirds,withtheadditionofanother7,000km(4,300miles).Bythenalmosteverycitywithapopulationofhalfamillionormorewillbeconnectedtoit.Tensofmillionsmoremigrantswillhavepouredinfromthecountryside.Betweennowand2030,saystheWorldBank,theaverageriseinthenumberofcity-dwellerseachyearislikelytobearound13m,roughlythepopulationofTokyo.In2030China’scitieswillbehometocloseto1billionpeople,orabout70%ofthepopulation,comparedwith54%today.Bysomeestimatestheurbanpopulationwillpeakaround2040,stilljustshyofthe1billionmarkbutcloseenough.AsJamesMcGregor,anAmericanbusinessman,putitinhisbook,“OneBillionCustomers”,publishedin2005,thenotionofabillionChinesespendershascometosymbolise“thedreamofstaggeringprofitsforthosewhogetherefirst,thehypeandhopethathasmesmerisedforeignmerchantsandtradersforcenturies”.
Aftertakingoveraspartychiefin2012,XiJinping(nowalsopresident)launchedhisexpecteddecadeinpowerwithacatchphrase:
“TheChinesedream”.Itwasastrikingbreakfromtheparty’straditionofideology-ladenslogans.Nowendlesslyinvokedinofficialspeechesandthesubjectofnumerousbooksandsongs,thephraseisclearlyintendedtoappealtoupwardlymobileurbanresidentsstrivingforthecomfortsoftheirrich-worldcounterparts.
Only15yearsagosuchamiddleclassbarelyexistedinChina.In2011,whenthecountryreached50%urbanisation,ithadbecomeobviousthattheparty’sfaterestedwiththestabilityofcitiesandthecontentednessoftheirmiddle-classresidents.ThelargelyruralcountrythatDengXiaoping(himselfofpeasantstock)setoutto“reformandopenup”inthelate1970shadbecomeoverwhelminglyurbaninitseconomicandpoliticalfocus.Thanksmainlytoatideofmigration,China’surbanpopulationhadgrownbymorethan500msinceDenglaunchedhisreforms:
theequivalentofallthepeopleintheUnitedStatesplusthreeBritains.
LiKeqiang,whotookoverasprimeministerin2013,seesfurtherurbanisationascriticaltoChina’seconomicsuccess.Hehascalledita“giganticengine”forgrowth.MrLiandotherofficialsarefondofquotingJosephStiglitz,aNobelprize-winningAmericaneconomist,whosaidthattechnologicalinnovationinAmericaandurbanisationinChinawouldbe“twokeys”tomankind’sdevelopmentinthe21stcentury.
AnewgrandplanforChina’scities,overseenbytheprimeministerandp
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