Recently, following the trend of encouraging young people to rely on their parents for support, Professor Liang Yongan from Fudan University in Shanghai sparked a heated discussion online by stating that it is “perfectly normal for graduates from top universities to work as food delivery drivers.”
During an interview with Da Xiang News’ program “Listening to the Youth” on February 13, Liang Yongan addressed the current employment issues by expressing, “It is normal for graduates from top universities to work as food delivery drivers. In this society, there is no distinction between high and low occupations. After the process of middle-class formation, the income disparity is not significantly large, and there is not too big of a difference in education level and knowledge structure.”
He emphasized that every profession in society requires a significant number of educated individuals to elevate the overall civilization level of development.
Liang Yongan’s comments have stirred up a debate online. Many netizens have expressed their opinions, with some saying, “This professor should try working as a food delivery driver first,” “It’s normal for professors to work as delivery drivers,” and “After studying for so many years, doing a job that anyone can do doesn’t render the prior efforts useless.”
In response to the situation, current affairs commentator Chen Pokong told Radio Free Asia that no country in the world categorizes food delivery as a middle-class occupation. He suggested that Liang Yongan’s statement either reflects flattery to authorities or just following orders from the authorities.
He pointed out that these occurrences reflect the bleak situation in China, where the fate of one or even two generations is dim, and the reality is full of misfortune and untimeliness.
With the continuous decline of the Chinese economy, the job prospects for recent university graduates on the mainland have become increasingly grim. This has led to highly educated talents being forced to take on simple jobs such as food delivery drivers or janitors to make ends meet.
Prior to this, Liang Yongan encouraged young people with certain conditions to rely on their parents for at least three years. He explained that “relying on parents” allows young people to find their own path in life, enabling them to explore, understand the world, and live differently.
According to the 2024 report on the employment quality of college graduates in China, the number of college graduates in 2024 exceeded 10 million, with 37% having postgraduate or higher qualifications, while research and development positions accounted for only 6%. Among the food delivery platform drivers, 2.9% have postgraduate or higher qualifications.
Recently, a screenshot of a recruitment advertisement from Haidilao circulated online, which showed that they were hiring graduates with “ordinary bachelor’s degrees” and “graduates from top universities (985/211)” as food delivery drivers, offering monthly subsidies of 1200 yuan for ordinary bachelor’s degree holders and 2000 yuan for graduates from top universities. This has led many netizens to lament that it is simply a waste of talent.