Since Xi Jinping took office as the leader of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012, government surveillance has become increasingly ingrained in the lives of ordinary people. Now, with the comprehensive establishment of the CCP’s Ministry of Social Affairs at various levels of government nationwide, this monitoring has reached a new level. Party organizations and social observers have been established in the food delivery and ride-hailing industries, indicating that the CCP regime is on edge.
The CCP has already established vast digital surveillance technology and a grid system covering all urban and rural communities. However, it seems that these measures are not enough to reassure the authorities. Around 2025, many provinces and cities in China began recruiting “social work observers,” as one of the new initiatives since the establishment of the CCP’s Ministry of Social Affairs in 2023.
These “social work observers” are different from social workers; the latter are professional technical personnel providing services such as care and assistance, while social work observers are usually “volunteer” roles.
The role of “social work observers” is depicted by the CCP’s official media as listeners, “sensors,” and social “probes,” serving as the party’s “messengers” and “postmen.”
Areas with high influx of migrants and significant social mobility, particularly those highlighted by the CCP’s Ministry of Social Affairs, such as coastal regions in southeast China, are of particular interest.
In early January 2024, the Social Affairs Department of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee established a comprehensive social work observation system. According to local CCP media reports, there are over 1,400 social work observers in Guangdong province. The system is expected to be further improved in the coming 2 to 3 years.
These social work observers come from diverse backgrounds, spread across different industries, mainly from the community, businesses, media, universities, social organizations, and more.
Delivery drivers, food delivery riders, and ride-hailing drivers, due to their presence in various areas and keen observation skills, have also become recruitment targets.
In June last year, the CCP Market Supervision Administration issued a document hiring a group of “responsible” online delivery drivers as part-time “social supervisors.”
According to the April 2025 public notice of social work observers in Huainan City, Jiangsu Province, the city has decided to recruit social work observers from new employment groups in the city, with 10 truck drivers and 10 ride-hailing drivers confirmed as candidates.
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