In the past week, reports have emerged from various parts of China about government officials, employees of state-owned enterprises, and central enterprise staff facing salary arrears. Provinces affected include Liaoning, Shenyang, as well as Shandong, Anhui, Henan, Jiangsu, Guangxi, and others. Interviewees have revealed that salaries have not been paid for several months, making it difficult to make ends meet. Scholars have warned that the impact of local fiscal crises on social stability and livelihood security is becoming increasingly evident.
Recently, social platforms like Douyin have seen a surge in netizens exposing cases where government departments and public institutions have delayed or withheld wages, sparking widespread attention. On June 27, a blogger in Shenyang listed several government departments that “cannot pay salaries,” sparking discussions. Comments in the section mentioned, “In Yuhong District in Shenyang, all departments haven’t paid salaries for half a year, even public kindergartens have stopped paying.” Workers in areas like Tiexi, Tongzheng, and Heping have also reported wage arrears, with some saying that the Xinmin Social Work Station hasn’t paid for “two years.”
A social worker in Heping District stated, “Salaries have long stopped. My wife is about to give birth, and we can’t even afford hospital bills.”
Retired government employee Li Renyi in Shenyang, Liaoning, mentioned to reporters that not only serving civil servants but also some secure positions face risks: “Local governments are struggling now. Land cannot be sold, tax revenue has decreased sharply. A friend at the Municipal Water Conservancy Bureau told me that their unit has stopped social security and housing provident fund payments, and salaries have been delayed.”
He further highlighted that state-owned enterprises and institutions are also affected: “Retirement pensions are still being paid now, but what about in the future?”
In Shandong, several cities have reported similar situations. On June 26, a public servant in Zaozhuang posted, “Salaries not paid.” A grassroots healthcare worker in Jimo also sought help online, mentioning, “No updates on salaries for two months. It’s hard to focus at work every day; we can’t survive like this.”
Zhao Na, a resident in Weifang, revealed that in some towns, not only are government employees’ salaries delayed, but they are also being “cut off”: “A relative mentioned that the officials in their town haven’t received full salaries for a month, now only receiving 80%, and some district-level government officials haven’t been paid for several months.”
Zhao Na also disclosed that many local enterprises face the same problems, but employees “dare not leave even if they are resentful.” “Some employees even lend money to the companies to pay salaries, but they can only help you out once,” she added.
A voluntary teaching volunteer in Puyang, Henan, posted about their challenging situation, stating that they had no formal position, living on a tight budget, and now even the annual rural subsidy couldn’t be received: “We can’t hold on.” Comments in the section mentioned, “Only received 1500 RMB after seven and a half months, which is not enough to survive.”
In Jiangsu, Lianyungang faced a situation where construction workers surrounded a photovoltaic demonstration project under the China National Nuclear Corporation due to long-standing wage arrears. A local e-commerce merchant, Zhu Ziqiang, said, “Jiangsu’s economy is relatively good nationwide, but many state-owned enterprises are also unable to pay salaries. The factory where my daughter works has changed hands, orders are low, and they only work three days a week. The situation might worsen next year.”
Peng Jiazhen, a retired teacher from the Central South University of Finance and Law, told Dajiyuan that regional finances in the Chinese Communist Party have been highly dependent on land transfer fees. Once the real estate market declines, fiscal revenues decrease, spreading pressure to grassroots levels: “The current fiscal crisis is affecting the most basic services like education, healthcare, sanitation. Salary delays are just the manifestation of the broader issues related to policy environment and fiscal structure.”
On June 28, Caixin quoted the 2024 fiscal audit report from the State Council of the Chinese Communist Party, revealing that 16 provinces and 175 counties across the country misused 4.1 billion RMB of agricultural subsidies. Some of these funds were used to pay public officials’ salaries or repay debts. Similarly, 104 counties were found to have enterprises fraudulently receiving 478 million RMB in agricultural machinery subsidies, with 3235 grassroots officials suspected of embezzling 23.29 million RMB in subsidies.
Simultaneously, the daily life pressures on ordinary people continues to intensify. A video from Guangdong showed an elderly person working 12 hours overnight at a construction site, earning only 170 RMB.
Peng Jiazhen warned, “If the fiscal distress leads to prolonged wage arrears in the public sector, it will not only cause talent drain and collapse of basic services but also exacerbate urban-rural disparities, triggering deeper discontent and unrest. The societal impact of the fiscal crisis is quietly spreading, and if not promptly addressed, the consequences could be unpredictable.”
From government officials to sanitation workers, from teachers to doctors, from the northeast to eastern and southern regions, the issue of wage arrears continues to spread. Scholars believe that the Chinese Communist Party’s fiscal system is facing unprecedented revenue and expenditure challenges, affecting social stability and potentially shaking the institutional foundation.