Today’s Focus:
In 2025, the prosperity of the mainland has faded, and the lower-class people can no longer cope, while the privileged class continues to splurge!
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it’s already 2026. Looking back at the just past 2025, although there were no earth-shattering events, the lives of ordinary people have slowly grown colder. Many can feel the silent decline, watching the vibrancy slowly dissipate, bit by bit, disappearing. But the privileged class continues to flaunt their extravagant lifestyle, spending recklessly as usual!
The reason why ordinary people are living in hardship is due to the continuous decline of the Chinese economy, with immense financial pressure on the CCP. In order to maintain statistics, the CCP has allowed financial pressure to seep down through the ranks and regions. This has not only affected ordinary people but also system insiders such as government officials, teachers, healthcare workers, etc.
On Chinese social media platforms like WeChat and Douyin, numerous people are expressing their pain:
Mr. Zhao from Shenyang, Liaoning, said, “I work in a Shenyang state-owned unit, and this month I haven’t paid social security or housing fund.”
Ms. Liu, working in the education system in Shenyang, told Dajiyuan, “In Liaoning, performance bonuses haven’t been paid for five months, and Sujiatun District government is facing financial difficulties.”
Ms. Sun from Qianjiang, Hubei, mentioned she was a substitute teacher. She said, “I joined a state-owned unit in July, but so far, I haven’t received a single penny. I’m just hanging there, as if I don’t exist.”
Ms. Liu from Dalian mentioned, “Dalian teachers have owed social security and housing fund for several years. People used to envy us before, but who dares to envy us now?”
A nurse from Shandong posted a video on Douyin, saying, “I want to ask, for how long have you not received your salary? Can your salary still be paid normally? Like us, starting from May, we haven’t received a full month’s salary. Instead, for the past five months from June to October, we have been paid only half a month’s salary, and it’s just over a thousand yuan in hand. Recently, the over a thousand yuan salary has dropped to between five hundred and eight hundred. My colleagues receive even less, some receive just over three hundred, and now I’ve heard that salaries for November and December won’t be paid. How are we supposed to live? Forget about supporting children, we can’t even support ourselves.”
A nurse from a hospital in Jiangxi commented in the discussion section, “Buying gauze for ourselves shouldn’t make headlines. Once we get used to it, what will become of us?”
Mr. Wang, working in a county-level state-owned unit in Jiangxi, mentioned that during an internal meeting in June 2025, the local government discussed the financial arrangements. He said, “The meeting minutes at the time wrote, ‘The provident fund and year-end performance pay need to be issued as appropriate to ensure basic operations,’ but without a specific schedule.” The term “as appropriate” has become an uncertain wait in the daily lives of many insiders.
If the situation is like this for insiders, the lives of ordinary people are even more challenging:
A netizen from Guangdong in a video said, “Yesterday we were still working, and today the factory is closed, and the boss has run away.” In the video, dozens of workers silently gather in the workshop where the machines have stopped, with expressions of helplessness.
An elderly resident, Mr. Wang, from Jing’an District in Shanghai, lamented, “I work in a business center on Jianghua Road. Last year it was almost fully occupied, but this year two-thirds have left, and the parking spots are empty. Most of those who lost their jobs are from the 1980s, and it’s really frightening.”
Mr. Qian, residing in Shanghai, mentioned that he used to work at Zhangjiang Science City in Pudong New Area but is now unemployed. He helplessly said, “Many office buildings that were once bustling in Shanghai are now deserted.”
A young man who returned to Hubei’s hometown posted a short video saying, “I can’t make it in the city and have no land when I go back to the village.” A netizen responded, “This is my third time returning to my hometown this year. I don’t know if I still count as part of society.”
An online user claiming to be a “female white-collar worker” who resigned in Shenzhen said, “I cried on the subway for 20 minutes. I bought a house with a loan in 2019, and now it has depreciated by half. I dare not tell my parents.”
Xu Xin, a scholar at Renmin University of China, analyzed that the population structure crisis this year is also reflected in young people being “unwilling to work or strive for progress.” He believes this is not a personal choice but a result of structural changes in the system over the years. He said, “China now has a new invisible population group. They don’t work, don’t seek employment, don’t start businesses, don’t consume, and don’t appear in statistics. They have disappeared, and the country has no idea where they’ve gone.” He further stated, “The real social rupture isn’t when people are angry, but when they quietly withdraw.”
As life becomes increasingly difficult for the people, the control by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has become stricter.
Starting in mid-September this year, grassroots governments in many places across the mainland have begun to strengthen the management of rental housing, requiring tenants to register with their real names and synchronize with the public security or community systems in some cities.
A tenant in Guangdong posted on the local forum, saying, “Even renting a house requires documentation now. We have to report our every move.”
A netizen suspected to be working in online content moderation mentioned, “We receive new keyword lists every day, knowing what we can’t say, but not knowing why.”
Ironically, despite the terrible state of the Chinese economy, the statistical data released by the CCP authorities remains stable.
Some commentators believe that there is a “chain of deception” in the CCP’s statistics, with all data released by the authorities having no connection to reality. The issue of falsifying data by the CCP government has never ceased.
In a report published by Caijing on December 29, 2025, it was mentioned that some provinces and cities inflated export growth figures through the method of “buying exports.”
The report quoted a foreign trade system person named Zhu Tao from Beijing, saying, “The ‘buying exports’ situation has been around for many years, but it’s only with the higher requirements for export data assessments that different sectors have reached a tacit understanding. As long as the numbers look good, those above are satisfied.” The report also stated that according to statistics released by the General Administration of Customs of the CCP, the national export growth in 2025 increased by about 1.7% compared to last year, but data from some prefectural-level cities showed an increase of 20% to 30%, significantly differing from the overall economic situation.
Mr. Peng, an economist researching economic issues in Shandong, mentioned that to achieve accomplishments, some officials ignore reality and falsify data. He said that in the absence of orders and with declining exports, the fact that the numbers are getting better is a problem in itself. What’s most dangerous is that data can be beautified, but the people’s livelihoods cannot be falsified.
As the privileged and unfair circumstances continue, a stark contrast is seen between the challenging survival of ordinary people and the lavish lifestyles and societal injustices of the privileged class. Here are a few incidents from 2025:
Chinese actress Huang Yangsweet posted a photo with her mother’s earrings. Through the reflection of the gemstones, netizens confirmed that the earrings were authentic, pointing out their high value and scrutinizing Huang’s mother’s extravagant clothing and consumption habits, which appear far beyond the normal household income. This raised suspicions about the corrupt actions of Huang Yangsweet’s father, who was said to have been a former government official.
Amid public uproar, official reports stated that the earrings were replicas, denying the speculations of netizens. Eventually, Huang Yangsweet’s father was “under investigation for suspected illegal business activities.”
Regardless of the authenticity of the earrings, this incident highlights a significant issue – the excessive corruption of Chinese officials and how sensitive the public is about high spending by officials’ families. Even a pair of earrings could garner national attention and evoke strong public discontent.
A Mercedes-Benz owner drove on a small road in Fangchenggang City, facing a white Great Wall vehicle coming from the opposite direction. A man named Hou got out of the Great Wall car and presented an “Administrative Law Enforcement Certificate,” demanding the Mercedes owner to reverse.
After the incident garnered public attention, the authorities stated that the woman was not a public servant and was using her husband’s credentials. Subsequently, the local police released an “Administrative Penalty Decision,” announcing the handling of the event.
Some keen netizens noticed that in the document, the privacy information of the “License Display Lady,” such as ID number and home address, was redacted, but the full name and license plate number of the Mercedes-Benz owner were disclosed.
The behavior of the police left the public extremely dissatisfied. Some netizens mentioned that regardless of the lady’s identity, the police’s handling was absurd. Commentators criticized it as a clear double standard, indicating a move to play dirty tricks when faced with clear evidence.
However, this behavior, regardless of “License Display Lady’s” identity, reflects the reverence for power in Chinese society and exposes the ugly side of some individuals abusing power, highlighting the public’s fear of authority.
According to Australian media reports, a young woman named Yang Lanlan, driving a Rolls-Royce, was caught drunk-driving in a wealthy area in Australia, causing a serious accident while driving in the opposite direction.
After the incident came to light, netizens dug into her background and revealed her lavish lifestyle. She resided in a mansion in Sydney, Australia, filled with luxury items, owning two luxury cars, a Rolls-Royce, and a Mercedes.
Yang Lanlan’s incident sparked a “digging trend” online, with netizens trying to uncover her real identity and the source of her wealth. Rumors suggested she might be related to certain powerful figures in mainland China, but her specific identity remains a mystery, which is itself extraordinary.
Data shows that the average monthly pension for retired personnel in state-owned units and institutions is about 6,000 yuan, while the 95% of rural residents receiving old-age pensions are farmers, with monthly pensions as low as 220 yuan.
This whopping 27-fold difference is shocking to the public. It’s even more exaggerated that the minimum basic old-age pension standard for urban and rural residents is only 123 yuan. It was only after the National People’s Congress in March 2025 that a 20-yuan increase was made, reaching 143 yuan.
Many question how such meager pensions can sustain their basic living expenses.
With 170 million elderly people in China receiving urban and rural residents’ old-age insurance, having toiled their entire lives, the vast disparity in their pensions compared to those of insiders is soul-crushing, making the situation unbearable for ordinary workers!
It is this privilege and inequality that is making life for the Chinese people, who are already on edge, increasingly tough. Some commentators point out that if this trend continues, 2026 will be a turbulent year.
– Production Team of “Jiayin Moment”