Today’s Focus: Taiwanese Internet celebrity’s first-hand experience: trying to please the Chinese Communist Party is useless even if not fully controlled; Tsinghua scholar’s article claims “a force is dragging everyone down”; Is it harder for poor families to produce successful offspring? Why is the county’s education system collapsing, transforming from a ladder to a cage?
On August 19th, Kuan, a popular live streamer, confessed during a live broadcast that he spent 2 million Taiwanese dollars, equivalent to 480,000 RMB, to live stream in Shenzhen. He has many videos on Bilibili and TikTok with high traffic. However, he was labeled as a “special individual” by the Chinese Communist Party. He can’t even access his TikTok or Bilibili accounts now, and his business opportunities are restricted, requiring someone to vouch for him, but he couldn’t find anyone willing to help. Even though his video views may have reached over 100 million, he hasn’t earned a single cent.
Kuan mentioned that with this trip and his visit to Shanghai in June, he estimates a loss of 4 million new Taiwanese dollars. He said, “I didn’t make a fortune; I suffered a miserable loss!” Furthermore, his gym in Taiwan faced resistance, leaving him in a very low mood, stating that he will never go to China for live streaming or traveling in the future.
Regarding Kuan’s ordeal, Vice-Secretary-General He Chenghui of the Taiwan Security Association, in an interview with Dajiyuan, stated that many people think that speaking well of China and praising it a bit would allow them to enter the market and get a share. This is a misconception. What the CCP wants is not flattery but total control. Only by speaking according to its way and acting according to its script can one possibly be utilized by the CCP. Otherwise, no matter how hard one tries to please, they will ultimately be viewed as a clown.
He Chenghui mentioned that the CCP often requests so-called “endorsements” or guarantees, which are actually about mistrust, aiming to completely control people. Though there might be some superficial benefits, it’s mostly about control and intimidation. In the eyes of the CCP, people without integrity are merely tools, disposable after being used. In the case of Kuan, what the CCP intends is to make him more obedient, ensuring he is fully controlled.
So, what is the criterion for the CCP in selecting its “united front targets”? He Chenghui stated that this question is straightforward – it’s about whether a person has a “bottom line.” Those who “dare to think independently, criticize bravely, and create self-worth” are not what the CCP desires. The Beijing authorities prefer those who are meek, willing to lose face, even being able to “occasionally show an ugly side,” providing the CCP with opportunities to denigrate Taiwan. In other words, individuals with high integrity, difficult to control, are excluded by the CCP.
In the eyes of the CCP, “loyalty is not absolute loyalty, but absolute disloyalty.” In other words, no matter how loyal these individuals are, once they lose their utilitarian value, they will be abandoned.
He Chenghui pointed out that the most crucial aspect for Taiwan is to ensure that the “truth” is known by more people. He said, the actions of the CCP are purposeful, such as the military parade on September 3rd, which may seem grand but is actually a sign of the CCP’s underlying anxiety and insecurity. Holding a grand parade is to boost confidence.
He Chenghui advised young people not to be misled by the “Chinese market” illusion. He said that with more cases being exposed, people will soon realize that the reality is not as idyllic as they imagine.
On August 19th, law professor and doctoral supervisor at Tsinghua University Law School, Lao Dongyan, published an article on Weibo. In the article, she expressed how in recent years, she has keenly felt a force in society dragging almost everyone down, which is becoming increasingly stronger. Many beautiful things are ruthlessly shattered and destroyed, crudeness is openly displayed and regarded as authenticity. This kind of crudeness echoes each other on the internet, gaining more momentum. In such an environment, those who do not wish to fall together, merely to maintain their original position, are deemed guilty.
Nowadays, anyone with normal cognition and empathy feels profound powerlessness, experiencing pain and oppression. Lao Dongyan wrote, “In the current environment, if someone does not feel pain, oppression, or stress and blindly fixed in a serene time, psychologically, they might have more significant issues: looking happy might actually be severely sick. Taking a step back, even if not seriously ill, it’s utter dullness.”
Lao Dongyan also noted, “Many people convert their perceived stress and pain into spite, directing it towards individuals they can bully, fueling a trend where everyone embraces ruin together,” “Such a destructive mindset and behavior, I do not endorse. It only leads to a greater avalanche, and when that day comes, they will not be innocent.”
Facing this force constantly dragging us down, there must be a conscious effort to exert an opposite force, or one will undoubtedly succumb to the force of descent. However, “strategy and tactics are also essential.” “What we should care about is not the victory of a battle, but the final outcome of the entire war.”
It is worth noting that after this post was published, it was swiftly deleted.
In response, Lao Dongyan posted, “This post is dead again, from being visible to everyone to being viewable only by oneself in less than 10 hours. Confirmed to have been reported, under the pretext of ‘harmful political information.’ Some individuals, living in the gutter, always fancy that others are used to living in the gutter as well.”
By daring to speak out about her true feelings, Lao Dongyan made many people sweat with anxiety for her.
Fortunately, the IP address of Lao Dongyan’s post indicates Canada, allowing her concerned online friends to breathe a sigh of relief.
Lao Dongyan, a prominent figure at Tsinghua University Law School, and a doctoral supervisor, wields considerable influence in the Chinese academic community. She was awarded as the “most influential young scholar in the humanities and social sciences” and “one of the top ten outstanding young jurists in the capital” in 2016. She publicly supported fellow Tsinghua professor Xu Zhanrun, suppressed for criticizing the authorities.
As a well-known figure at Tsinghua University, Lao Dongyan is known for speaking out courageously. Her statements are frequently deleted, for instance, in 2022, she penned a lengthy article criticizing the extreme anti-epidemic policies enforced by the authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic, labeling them as “absurd.” She has also openly opposed the Weibo real-name system, viewing it as a means for authorities to comprehensively control the populace.
The term “county schools” refers to county-level secondary schools. In the past, these institutions were seen as crucial stepping stones for rural and small-town children to alter their destinies. Many underprivileged students broke into top universities via academic achievements in county schools, subsequently leaving their rural areas and county towns to reside in major cities. However, the current situation is witnessing dramatic shifts.
Recently, a video depicting a junior high school girl being bullied in Jiangyou, Sichuan, has triggered widespread public concern. Some people argue that this is not an isolated incident but a microcosm of the entire education crisis in China.
Educator Li Xiao from Northeast China mentioned that he attended county schools. Back then, he excelled in math and science, managed to leave the county town, and gained admission to Tsinghua University. However, the circumstances have changed drastically nowadays. The quality of teachers is uneven. Some teachers even pay for the position of class head, as once they become class heads, they can recoup their expenses through red packets, making a profit within a year. To avoid trouble, they engage in intricate dealings, compressing individuals genuinely interested in teaching through this gray chain.
Li Xiao provided an example where his niece was treated adversely because she did not present red packets to the class head. A friend’s child faced severe psychological issues due to exclusion on campus.
Moreover, there is a trend where good teachers from county schools are poached by prestigious city schools; the highest-achieving students are also siphoned off by other schools through competitive admissions, leaving behind a depleted faculty and students with diminishing learning drive in county schools. Consequently, the once illustrious county schools progressively descend into educational quagmires.
Li Xiao bluntly stated, “County schools are no longer ladders for upward mobility but cages.” He mentioned that when education loses its supportive force, society loses its last connection to the future.
Experts analyze that the “collapse of county schools” is not a random occurrence but a result of multiple factors overlaying, including severe resource disparities, a collapse of trust systems, and societal functional debilitation.
In the past, many believed in the adage “hard work leads to success in education.” However, the former sparkling lists of college admissions rates are now dim. In various county schools, the absence of top-tier students being accepted by prestigious universities has persisted for over a decade, causing students to question the meaning of their efforts. Simultaneously, the commercialization and gift-giving culture among educational staff leave parents feeling despondent about fairness. In such an atmosphere, education is no longer a pure academic realm but a gray area brimming with hidden rules.
Li Xiao stated that present county schools resemble enormous machines. Students are scheduled from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm, with only half a day off per month, manipulated like parts. All efforts are geared toward grades; no one cares about whether students can speak up or think critically. Students are even more relentless than before, but the results are poorer.
County schools used to be gateways for ordinary children to venture into a wider world. However, this avenue is gradually closing.
Li Xiao remarked, “Those who leave mostly stop at the edge of the city; those who remain are trapped in the shadows of the campus. Education is no longer a pathway for social mobility but a passive consumption system.” Twenty years ago, regular kids could break through based on grades. But now, as each rung of the ladder collapses steadily, hope is slowly eroding.
Li Xiao candidly expressed, “The crisis in county schools isn’t merely about the decay of the educational system but the entire county society quietly withdrawing from the educational competition.”
As a global education practitioner, Li Xiao contrasted Chinese county cities with education abroad. He stated that India, although lagging, has limited educational resources; education features diverse stratification, allowing even lower-tier students to secure work through skill training or community projects. It means that even if they don’t enter prestigious schools, alternative pathways exist.
In contrast, Chinese “county schools” have fallen into a singular logic: either pass the academic exam or fall into oblivion. Li Xiao remarked, “In county schools, children continue to climb upwards, but society has withdrawn the ladder. The most fatal poverty is not material but a lack of imagination for potential futures.”
Li Xiao also highlighted experiences in remote Mexican villages where natives compose teaching materials in native languages, weaving cultural traditions into the curriculum, permitting children to learn in familiar settings and preserve their cultural identity. “At that moment, I realized: education is not just about score training; it’s about giving individuals the courage to speak, express themselves, and breathe.”
Li Xiao said, “In the dim tutoring centers of India, village classrooms of Mexico, I see education still serving as steps for upward movement; but returning to my hometown in Northeast China, I encounter cold score limits and intangible rules. There, you will realize that education could be a springboard or a cage. When combined with forces like dwindling student sources, teacher disjoints, and financial contraction, county schools cease to be a bridge but an abandoned crossing. Unhooked from population, education, and economy, they lose their reason for existence and the direction for the future.”