In the midst of widespread laziness and incompetence in the Chinese Communist Party’s officialdom, the trend of “lying flat” has gained popularity. Many aspiring civil servants are no longer enthusiastic about their “political prospects”, but are inclined towards “leisurely positions”. Recently, there has been a viral trend on the internet about the “ranking of the most leisurely government positions”. The attempt by the CCP party media to put out this fire has instead sparked ridicule.
Recently, a mainland self-media outlet published an article titled “Civil Servant ‘Lying Flat’ Map: Analyzing the Top 10 Most Leisurely Positions”, stating that the joke “switch from aspiring civil servant to lying flat” has now become the central logic of being a “hot” civil servant.
The article introduces ten golden units recognized as “shore (passing civil servant exam) and then lying flat”. Among them, the General Union is suitable for candidates who treat “serving the masses” as a slogan rather than a KPI (key performance indicator); the Political Consultative Conference is for the “leisurely faction negotiating state affairs”; in the Chamber of Commerce, overtime is a luxury; the Meteorological Bureau has predictable forecasts, ample research funds, and can write two SCI (Science Citation Index) papers when idle. Other recommended units include the Seismological Bureau, the Elderly Cadres Bureau, the Local Science and Technology Association, the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Supply and Marketing Society, and the Local Gazette Office, among others.
Another self-media article titled “In 2026, Join these 8 Units and You Can Lie Flat Directly” lists state-owned enterprises such as China Tobacco Group and State Grid, but reminds that many of these positions still require performance evaluations.
Numerous articles are focusing on topics like “ranking of leisurely internal system positions” and “guide to the most leisurely divine units”, providing guidance for the civil service exam candidates.
Regarding this, the CCP party media, People’s Daily, published a commentary on March 2 titled “Beware of the Hype of Civil Service Strategies in Lying Flat”, claiming that the so-called “strategies for civil service exam” circulating on the internet such as “ranking of leisurely internal system positions” and “guide to the most leisurely divine units” are “misleading the youth”.
The party media article claims that the youth’s choice to take the civil service exam is an acknowledgment of responsibility and commitment. The so-called strategies that hype “lying flat positions” often exaggerate extreme cases and negatively portray the mainstream image of the civil service team, and so on.
This stance by the party media has sparked mockery among netizens on X platform: “The Chinese government does not provide a safety net for society, yet criticizes young people for wanting to lie flat, how shameless can it get?”; “I burst out laughing. What is the purpose of taking the civil service exam, everyone knows, pretending to be naive here, talking about responsibility and commitment.”; “According to this logic, internet commentators in prison are most qualified to become civil servants, each one is so responsible.”
Some also said: “The CCP official media is blaming systemic problems on young people, it’s an old trick.” “In the twilight of the dynasty’s collapse, lying flat during the garbage time of the party-state is the best choice.”
With widespread corruption in the CCP officialdom, the authorities’ political movement dubbed “anti-corruption” has led to officials feeling disheartened. As political unrest and economic decline continue, internal competition within the CCP system has become brutal, with many lower-level civil servants facing heavy workloads and constant overtime, becoming the exploited group.
The latest issue of the Communist Party journal “Qiushi” published on March 1 contained a signed article by Xi Jinping, quoting his speeches on the so-called “willingness to take on responsibilities” from December 2012 to December 2025. This includes Xi criticizing officials who “only want the position of authority without wanting to work, who only want power without wanting to take responsibility.” Xi also explained the so-called “strict governance of the party” by stating that “strictness does not mean suffocating everyone, making people look back and be afraid, turning into a stagnant, inactive pool of dead water”, and so on.
Current affairs commentator Li Lin told Epoch Times that the rehashing of Xi Jinping’s words by the CCP party media indicates that the authorities are now facing a dilemma in their so-called anti-corruption efforts, encountering collective soft resistance from officials. Therefore, the publication of such articles by the party media instead raises suspicions of using sophisticated irony.