[Beijing Diary] Controversy Over China's Version of 'Passion Pay'

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] On the 2nd of last month, the National Bureau of Statistics of China announced the per capita disposable income of residents in 31 provinces. Resident disposable income refers to the total of residents' final consumption expenditure and savings, including both cash income and in-kind income. Shanghai ranked first with 78,027 yuan (approximately 14.22 million KRW), followed by the capital Beijing with 75,002 yuan. Nineteen provinces exceeded 30,000 yuan, and seven provinces surpassed 40,000 yuan.

The related news continues to heat up major Chinese portals and communities even now in February. In particular, a post titled "What does a monthly income of 10,000 yuan mean in China?" was created in a community, sparking interest. This topic was tagged with a hashtag (#) and spread as a kind of ‘meme’ (internet trending content) where individuals shared their own income and lifestyle experiences.

Especially migrant workers (nongmingong) who have to endure the pressure of repaying housing loans while working in big cities on tight monthly wages expressed that such disposable income statistics feel like a distant issue. Comments included statements like "Wage increases are not keeping up with inflation," "Even with disposable income nearing 80,000 yuan in Shanghai and Beijing, there is no room to buy a house," and "My monthly income is not even 2,000 yuan."

As this topic gathered attention for a long time, people claiming to be ‘experts’ began to share their views, starting a kind of second round of debate. Deng Haiqing, Deputy General Manager and Chief Investment Officer of AVIC Fund, openly targeted the youth, saying, "Young people these days want absurdly high wages, but their professional qualities and skill levels are very low. I want to tell many young people in China that the work you do can be outsourced to Thailand or Vietnam at half the price." Deng added, "The reason they are paid such low wages may be because they lack sufficient professional qualities or abilities."

Additionally, well-known entrepreneurs in China such as Dong Mingzhu, Chairwoman of Gree Group, and Yao Ning, Chairman of 3HFIT, advised that "young people should look beyond money to the distant future," and even if they earn little or no money, they should invest in experiences where they can do what they truly love and learn. The controversy over ‘passion pay’?the exploitation of young workers with very low wages?that sparked anger among young workers in Korea is now spreading in China.

Although no official targets have been announced yet, the Chinese government regards this year as the first year of economic rebound. If they want to create a sustainable economic growth trajectory, they should first seek ways to raise the young Tangping generation (a neologism referring to a laid-back attitude of lying down and doing nothing) who choose to lie down with little money rather than worrying about marriage or employment.