Today’s Focus: Trump Demands Military Leaders to Rekindle ‘Warrior Spirit’ to Build Strongest Army; Workers Involved in Mixer Incident, Mooncakes Sold Out? Panic in Guangxi Residents; “Can’t Afford Meals”, “Covered in Debt”, Taking Stock of Chinese People’s Real Lives.
This past Tuesday (September 30), the U.S. military held a senior meeting in Quantico, Virginia, where senior military leaders stationed around the globe gathered. President Trump delivered a speech during the meeting, urging the military to rediscover the “warrior spirit” to build a stronger, more agile military.
At the beginning of his speech, Trump mentioned, “I’ve never walked into such a quiet room…if you want to applaud, go ahead.” This light-hearted comment elicited laughter from the audience, immediately enlivening the atmosphere.
Trump mentioned that before taking the stage, he was informed that the room would be very quiet, as per military tradition where senior military officials maintain a nonpartisan demeanor and do not easily show emotions. He expressed, “Someone told me, ‘Sir, you won’t hear any whispers in the room.’ And I said, we need to get these people to relax a bit.”
Moving on to the main topic, Trump stated that the government would rename the Department of Defense to the Department of War, not just as a name change but to awaken that “warrior spirit” anew. He emphasized, “As the President, I support you, one hundred percent…We have to make our military even stronger, tougher, faster, fiercer, and more powerful than ever before.”
Trump said, “It is my supreme honor to serve as your Commander-in-Chief…for every single one of you, I thank you for the steadfast loyalty you demonstrate to the armed forces and the nation we solemnly swear to defend.”
In his speech, Trump emphasized that the strength of the military has never been a simple manifestation of money or manpower but rather of culture and spirit. From ancient Sparta to Rome, from the British Empire to the United States, history shows that what truly determines the strength of a military is the will and traditions of its warriors. He stated that America’s strength comes from the bravery, unwavering will, and outstanding traditions of its people, which have made the U.S. military the “most unstoppable force the Earth has ever seen.”
Apart from emphasizing the spiritual aspect, Trump also mentioned training, standardization, and management of the military.
Trump revealed that the government is considering expanding the size of the U.S. military while eliminating those personnel who are deemed unfit.
Furthermore, Trump discussed national security. He criticized, “In the past few decades, American policymakers inexplicably started to believe that our job was to carry out security missions in distant places like Kenya and Somalia, neglecting the ‘invasion’ from within America.” He stated, “Defending the homeland is the primary task of the military.”
Trump proposed that the Department of War should use “dangerous cities” as training sites for the military and National Guard. He said, “I told Pete Higuess we should use some of those dangerous cities as training grounds for the military and National Guard.”
Trump emphasized that past U.S. presidents such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln had used the armed forces to maintain domestic order and peace. Therefore, today, he expressed gratitude to every brave soldier who helped defend the capital and ensure the safety of the American people. He specifically mentioned cartel terrorists, labeling them as “evil enemies” and stressed that under his leadership, the U.S. military would be at the forefront of countering these threats.
On September 28, a netizen posted in a WeChat group claiming that a safety incident occurred at a food processing factory in Hepar County, Guangxi, where a worker fell into a mixer, discovered several days later. Currently, all mooncakes produced by the factory have been sold out. This incident sparked panic in the local area, despite official attempts to debunk the rumors, some netizens questioned the credibility due to its illogical content.
In the WeChat group, screenshots shared by the netizen showed that on the afternoon of September 8, Hepar County’s Emergency Committee organized a “County-wide 2025 Food Processing Enterprise Safety Alert Education Meeting,” urging all units to learn from the “mechanical injury incident at a food processing enterprise in Hepar County on September 6.” The netizen claimed that a worker fell into the machine making mooncakes, and now all mooncakes have been sold out. In this chat record, the netizen warned not to buy mooncakes from Hepar County.
On September 29, the Emergency Management Bureau of Hepar County, Beihai City, Guangxi, issued a notice stating that rumoured information circulating online about a worker at a mooncake factory in Hepar falling into a machine and being discovered several days later, and mooncakes being sold out were purely rumors.
The notification stated that during machine debugging, an employee’s arm got caught in the flour mixer due to misoperation, suffering head injuries, and unfortunately, succumbing to the injuries.
The notification emphasized that the accident occurred before the company started production of mooncakes, and afterward, the enterprise ceased production, has since been rectifying, and production has not resumed.
However, the official notification did not dispel the public’s doubts.
Many netizens on Weibo criticized the mainstream media for irrationally attempting to cover up for the local industry.
Some netizens commented, questioning why, if there was no production, a worker would get caught in the flour mixer?
Netizens sarcastically remarked that mooncakes are typically released two to three months in advance and with this incident happening on September 6, before production started, it seemed like a hoax?
Moving on from the mooncake topic, in recent years, China’s economy has been declining, leading ordinary people into a survival crisis. Next, we will delve into some real stories happening in China:
On September 28, Weibo influencer “Master Mei” shared a video conversation with a ride-hailing driver.
The driver mentioned that he operates a ride-hailing service, and business has been slow for the past two years. Last year during the Lunar New Year period, nearly half of his and his friends’ cars were parked, resulting in a loss of nearly 200,000 RMB (Renminbi) in just a month. Previously, the profit per car per month was only two thousand RMB. But now, even this profit has vanished. The market is saturated with people in this line of work.
The driver disclosed that over the past two years, some people can’t even afford meals. He shared an anecdote of an out-of-town individual who spent all their 3,000 RMB in Shanghai and turned to ride-hailing to earn money for food. To get a car to pick up passengers, this person even knelt down. They were left without money for a return ticket home and had to seek a way out in Shanghai.
“Master Mei” stated that he knows some out-of-town taxi drivers in Shanghai who eat, sleep, and work in their cars. They work over ten hours a day because they can’t afford to rent a house.
In response, the driver highlighted that these people cannot find work in their hometowns, and in Shanghai, even if they only earn 15 RMB per hour, it’s better than in their hometowns, so they struggle in Shanghai.
On September 27, Shanghai blogger “Wang Qiuku” posted a video showcasing his interview with a former Shanghai men’s volleyball player who goes by the name “Bingguo193.” “Bingguo193” claimed to be a national-level athlete and retired from the Shanghai men’s volleyball team. He mentioned that many athletes cannot find work after retiring, including national champions. Post-retirement, he worked as a McDonald’s restaurant manager, an advertising salesperson in an ad agency, among others. He eventually started a business, but it ended in failure. In despair, he turned to be a designated driver. Currently, he works at night, does live streaming, and tries to make ends meet.
On September 29, a Shanghai resident known as Dalong, operating a catering business, shared with Dajiyuan that his business is struggling, and he’s barely holding on. Currently, he has over 800,000 RMB in debt. If he can’t repay the debt, it will stain his record.
Dalong mentioned that many people are in situations like his. He recounted a friend in the cherry business who incurred losses of 42 million during the epidemic lockdown, causing the friend to sell his house and car. Within a month, the friend lost all his assets. He still has a 2.4 million RMB debt, which he’s unlikely to repay in his lifetime, leaving him no other choice but to go under the radar. One day, the friend’s wife told Dalong that her husband was on the verge of a breakdown and wanted to jump from a building.
Dalong sadly stated, “We tried to persuade him, pulling him back from the window sill, downstairs the police and ambulance were waiting, air cushions were laid out.”
Dalong expressed that such incidents are prevalent. Another friend of his who owned a horse racing business incurred an 8 million RMB loss, and with over 1 million RMB still unpaid.
Dalong mentioned that many people in Shanghai are unemployed, with tour guides, drivers, and food industry workers now turning to delivery services, operating ride-hailing cars. Some are doing delivery or temporary work at SF Express warehouses, working long hours every day, facing extreme hardship.
Dalong pointed out that 90% of people in Shanghai are using loans to buy houses and cars. If they become unemployed, they lose everything. Besides the debt, they have nothing left. He said, “Now I want to repay the debts, but if I can’t, I have no choice but to take it as it is. I can’t resort to criminal acts.”
Mr. Wang from Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, told Dajiyuan that he was once a middle-class individual working in the technology industry. During the pandemic, the government delayed payment to his company, leading to his bankruptcy, with an external debt of 10 million RMB. He mentioned that it was caused by the government’s disruptions, the more they did, the less money he had.
Mr. Yang, doing pharmaceutical business in Nanjing, Jiangsu, said that now, most physical store owners are barely managing and many have debts. He revealed that not only business owners but also individuals within the system have outstanding debts outside.
Furthermore, there has been a wave of “food scavenging” videos on the Mainland Chinese internet recently. From the visuals, many bloggers are born after 2000, including recent graduates, individuals earning meager incomes, or young people without jobs, who are experienced in picking leftover food.
Seeing the joy on their faces upon finding food they like or leftovers in good condition, many viewers felt a pang of sadness.
Former Mainland Chinese media person Ai Shicheng told Dajiyuan that Chinese people are face-conscious, and even when forced to pick up leftovers, they wouldn’t be so “ostentatious,” indicating it is more of a “sarcastic reflection of the current state of affairs.” It highlights that in actual life, “there are indeed a large number of young people struggling to survive.”
-Producer of “Jiayin Moment”