Harbin Strikes — Who Is Really Afraid!? Will Friends Inside the Great Firewall Feel Heavy-Hearted Seeing This News!? Civil Service Jobs Are No Longer an Iron Rice Bowl! Qiqibaba TALK "Refreshing Talk 783" 20260929

This episode first focuses on Harbin Engineering University penalizing twenty students with disciplinary warnings for using a VPN to access the external internet, with the host analyzing the ruling logic of the authorities using the Great Firewall to manufacture fear and control. Subsequently, the program focuses on the severe economic and employment situation in Shenzhen, reflecting the wave of physical business closures, factory relocations, high costs of street vending, low incomes across industries, and extreme difficulties in employment through a large number of on-the-street footages and personal accounts from netizens, merchants, and workers, and finally points out that even previously stable jobs inside the system may no longer be iron rice bowls.

Video link:

Full text:

Hello, everyone, and welcome to 7788577. Harbin, I think this is also setting an example for the whole country. Harbin Engineering University issued disciplinary notices and punished twenty students, and the reason was that they used a VPN, saying it was illegal. Then, a netizen, uh, made a sharp comment on this matter.

Today, what are we talking about? We are talking about Harbin Engineering University, Ha Gongda—no, Ha Gongcai, this school made the news, it punished twenty students with disciplinary warnings. Because of what? Because these students used a VPN through the campus network to access foreign websites. This netizen called this incident the "listening to enemy radio broadcasts" incident, listening to enemy radio broadcasts, which is also right. The current laws manage the use of VPNs very strictly; only a very small number or special people can pass through this.

Um.

Going out, who is this? That old bastard surnamed Fang, Fang Xingbin! Ah, is this guy still alive or dead? He is the one who brought this about, this information closure.

Um.

Closure has its reasons for closure, and openness has its reasons for openness. Guanzi, a philosopher from two thousand years ago, said: "He said that a single exit must be established, meaning there is only one channel through which force can be exerted outward; only a such country can become strong, and such an army can be victorious." Now this has been carried forward and is called "information from a single source" [xin chu yi kong], where information comes out through a single pinhole, and then all of the hundreds of millions of citizens can only look at the world through this pinhole.

Ah.

To put it a bit larger, it is looking at the world from the bottom of a well.

Um.

This is governing society, required for crowd control; in the eyes of some people, it has benefits, but those pinholes or well mouths still need eyes to look out, and ears to listen out. Who are these people? Let me count these few for you: this Zhang Weiwei, Shen Yi, two from the Fudan gang, and this Gao Zhikai, this old fogey.

And who else, Hu Xijin, Old Hu, and even this old geezer Wang Xiaodong, they might all have been specially approved. They are the controllers and carriers of the single information source. Um, they do not produce information; they only transport information that those in power want everyone to know through audio holes and pinholes.

So, those science and engineering students at Harbin Engineering University who do shipbuilding—you guys are really something, huh? Well, you use this pinhole to look at shipbuilding, to look at foreign papers, and you even have to get approval. Now you're messing around like this, enlarging the pinhole, ruining this pinhole. This is completely unacceptable and must be dealt with severely: listening to enemy broadcasts.

This matter is actually like this: I know most friends might have heard interpretations, seen information, or felt themselves that the biggest purpose of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) establishing this internet information wall is to control the dissemination of information. That's only part of the reason; it's actually not the whole story. First of all, another important reason is that it wants to instill fear, to make the Chinese people panic at all times. In addition, it wants to showcase its own control and make Chinese people habitually submit to and censor themselves.

How should I put it? This self-correction mechanism—in their view, how should I put it?—is to confirm that the Chinese people are obedient and easy to control. You see, this kind of disciplinary notice is like an alarm bell ringing at any time, and its purpose is to make every Chinese person who sees it feel panicked. For example, some friends inside the Great Firewall watching my video right now are probably thinking, "Will I be the one caught next time? Maybe I should reduce the frequency of using my VPN, maybe I should look outside less often."

Under this circumstance, one of their goals has already been achieved. Moreover, sometimes it's like tying a rope around someone's neck. It's not about actually choking them to death or anything like that. Often, for such authoritarian rulers, tying a rope around every citizen's neck is meant to keep you constantly in a state of fear that you might be choked to death.

[Video clip] Shenzhen is really, really, really too difficult right now. Working here makes me want to take a detour. But looking back, the detours are also packed with people. In Shenzhen, everyone can be an ox or a horse, but not everyone can be a chicken or a duck, am I right? Given the current situation in Shenzhen, you probably wouldn't believe it if I told you. Takeout deliverymen want to switch to courier delivery; couriers want to switch to Didi driving; Didi drivers want to do designated driving; but designated drivers have long wanted to deliver takeout. Now, forget about finding a two-day weekend job; just finding any job is extremely difficult. It's either making cold calls or doing sales. Can someone tell me which industry is the easiest to do in Shenzhen right now?

[Video clip - Street vendor] I've been in Shenzhen for just a month, and to my utter surprise, doing a small business in Shenzhen is actually this difficult. I've only been setting up a street stall for four days, and I'm already thinking about quitting. First of all, just parking the tricycle inside costs 300 yuan a month in parking fees. Secondly, they don't even let you bring in gas tanks; we can only lock our gas tanks outside. Now, with Friday, Saturday, and Sunday coming up, setting up unofficial street stalls at various intersections isn't allowed either. It seems making some money through street vending in Shenzhen is truly not that easy.

[Video clip] Farewell, Shenzhen. I will never come to Shenzhen to work again in my next life. Shenzhen is a Chinese special economic zone with a huge population and economic development, but Shenzhen is also known as the "Capital of Involution." Rent and electricity prices in Shenzhen are also very expensive. Tens of thousands of people flood into Shenzhen every day, and tens of thousands of people flee Shenzhen. People over 40 have a very hard time finding things to do in Shenzhen; even being a security guard has no takers. Young people also have a very hard time living in Shenzhen. We will never come back to Shenzhen.

[Video clip] The city I hate the most is Shenzhen. It puts up a front of being a tier-one city, but has low wages, high living costs, work all year round without a break, construction sites everywhere, a subway system crowded enough to make you doubt your life, urban villages full of rats and cockroaches, and even sunlight is charged for when renting a house.

[Video clip] Are you feeling suffocated by life in Shenzhen? I hope the following words can bring you some comfort. In Shenzhen, many people go to work every day as if they are facing execution. Can you believe it? Some even want to resign the moment they open their eyes, but they don't dare to. Do you think I'm exaggerating? But I'm telling you, this is the true state of many office workers right now.

[Video clip] Let me show you the streets of Shenzhen, everyone. Look, they are very desolate now. Basically, these stores don't have many customers, there are no pedestrians on the street, and it's very empty. Look at these businesses; doing business is very difficult for them now too.

[Video clip - Migrant worker] In Shenzhen, 17 yuan for a day-labor job, and there are so many people.

[Video clip] Most of them are men.

[Video clip] Harbin, coming to you.

[Video Clip] Many people know nothing about the real income in Shenzhen. Today, don't blame me for tearing down the filter that many people have regarding income in Shenzhen. In the last video, I said that the average wage in Hong Kong is three times that of Shenzhen, and many people privately messaged me saying I underestimated Shenzhen. But in any city on this planet, the majority of people must be in the most ordinary or bottom-tier jobs. Shenzhen's manufacturing industry ranks first in the country; it is a city developed by countless factories. Currently, most people working on assembly lines in Shenzhen factories can only earn a little over 4,000, less than 5,000. Among them, the treatment at the BYD factory is the best in Shenzhen, which is only a little over 5,000. Looking at the entire Greater Bay Area, the most profitable assembly line job is that Huawei factory in Dongguan, which is only around 6,000 at most. Workers in Shenzhen factories, you know I am not lying; this is the current situation. Today, I asked a cleaning lady at a Shenzhen subway station; she works half a day every day, and she only makes a little over 2,000 a month. You heard that right, it's a little over 2,000, even though she only works half a day. In addition, a relatively young security guard in his forties in Shenzhen only makes around 4,000 a month. And then there are ride-hailing drivers in Shenzhen, most of whom work from dawn till dusk, and their monthly income is...

[Video Clip] ...only 5,000 to 6,500. Furthermore, another large group in Shenzhen consists of small vendors running various small shops. Currently, the average income of this group might not even catch up to those working on assembly lines. This is the true portrait of the income of most people in Shenzhen. It's so deserted at this hour.

Refreshing and sobering.

This is in the great city of Shenzhen! There are few people on the street, and there is no one in the supermarket; the supermarket is about to close. At the barbecue place, there isn't a single table of customers.

[Video Clip - Stall Owner] Why is the cost of setting up a street stall in Shenzhen so high? Our fixed monthly expenses now actually amount to 10,000 yuan, and that's not even counting the cost of ingredients; the daily expenses are at least 300 yuan. But now, money in Shenzhen is not that easy to make. Our turnover today was only 500 yuan. After deducting costs, we just worked for nothing today. You tell me, why is business so hard to do now? I just calculated it; it's been exactly four months since Xu Jie and I came to Shenzhen, and we have actually spent 50,000 yuan in these four months. Can you imagine? We just came to Shenzhen to set up a street stall, and we actually invested 50,000 yuan. It's fortunate we didn't open a shop; if we had opened a shop, wouldn't we have had to invest over 100,000? The key is that in these four months, we have earned less than 40,000 in total.

[Video Clip] Moreover.

[Video Clip - Stall Owner] It means that in these four months in Shenzhen, not only did we not make money, but we also lost 10,000 yuan. You tell me, why is business so hard to do now?

[Video Clip] Brothers, out of the five shops here, three have already closed down. I don't know if I can hold on any longer. The tax amount is not high anymore. The raw fish shop is still operating, we are in the middle. Then these two food stalls are also temporarily closed. I don't know how many catering businesses will close in Shenzhen by the end of the year. Then, out of the five shops here, three have already closed, and I am still holding on. I don't know if I can make it to...

[Video Clip] ...the Chinese New Year.

[Video Clip] Does everyone remember the former Regina Miracle? Many companies moved away from Yulü this year, and I don't feel it's a pity. But this company moving away, I think that is the biggest pity. The former Regina Miracle factory was the world's largest lingerie manufacturing factory, famous in Shenzhen, with over 200,000 square meters of factory buildings and over 100,000 employees, most of whom were young and beautiful ladies. I heard they moved to Vietnam and Zhaoqing. Now, they only keep some of the factory buildings here.

[Video Clip] Feel how astonishing the number of shops closing down and shutting their doors is along this street! Look at all the 'For Rent' signs. The key is, even if they can open, can they actually operate? There isn't much new commercial supply here now. Have the people decreased, or where did they all go? Although the environment here isn't great, there hasn't been such a terrible situation before. This is almost a pile of closures.

[Video Clip] Everyone knows that recently, many factories in Shenzhen have moved out. But many industrial parks and shops in Shenzhen are still desperately trying to attract investment. You can see it. And especially the row of shops opposite us, they have been vacant since they started seeking tenants last year; no merchants have moved in. So, everyone can imagine what the market is like.

[Video Clip] Moreover, currently, in the entire industrial park, the number of companies that need to work overtime on weekends is pitifully small. This is the current status of the entire Shenzhen industrial park. Because there are many factories, and as factories move out, the personnel will also move, will also migrate. So, this is the situation of the entire Shenzhen industrial park at present, wow.

[Video Clip] Damn! Closed! Closed!

[Video Clip] There. [Video Clip] It's gone out of business again! Today, this is the Excellence Qianhai Times in the core area of Bao'an. Back when this project opened, you couldn't even buy a unit for 300,000; many of my clients tried to buy but couldn't, and they were kicking themselves, so regretful. Eight years later, looking at the business operations of the entire commercial area, I just walked around, and there are hardly any shops open. I've summarized a few reasons: first, the office buildings above have a very high vacancy rate. [Video Clip] Do you know how hard it is to do business offline now? Today is Sunday, a little past 11:00 AM. I came to a commercial complex in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, to see the situation inside. Almost all the storefronts are closed. Except for two education and training institutions operating normally, I didn't see any other shops. The vacancy rate is truly high. And this is in the core area of Nanshan District, Shenzhen, a first-tier city. If Shenzhen is like this, I want to ask you, my friends, how is it in your city? [Video Clip] The market situation is tough, Wang Ming! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven businesses closed down—so many closed on one street, boss! All of them, you just went and did it all. [Video Clip] I don't have the capacity for that. So many closed down. Sigh. Seven, eight, nine, ten. In the last two years, many large factories have moved out of Shenzhen or Dongguan. Now, this large factory in Fuyong, Bao'an, Shenzhen, is moving out again. Having taken root in Fuyong for over thirty years, with thousands of employees and over 60,000 square meters of factory space, it's all being vacated, planned to be [Video Clip] moved out by June next year. Take a look, tens of millions gone; take another look, tens of millions more gone. This is Shajing, Shenzhen. It used to be a very prosperous and lively place, especially when people got off work; it was shoulder-to-shoulder. Now it's desolate; it has lost its glory, and a faint sadness wells up in my heart. This morning, [Video Clip] a brother called me and said his factory closed down. When asked why, he said he had been losing money since last year and had already mortgaged a house. He had been running a processing factory in Shenzhen for fifteen years; it's a pity to close it, but he really couldn't hold on anymore. He still has another house to keep for his wife and children to live in. There are no new orders, and now it's basically just chasing payments. Many clients are also dragging their feet on the final payments, so he has long since run out of operating capital. He was basically relying on loans to sustain it, and he didn't know when it would end, so he closed the factory. Even the pot lid is gone. Ah. [Video Clip] The overall environment makes it very difficult to find work; many people have been lying flat for a year and still haven't found a job. [Video Clip] Shenzhen, I know your rent is expensive, but I didn't know it was expensive to the point of having no environment and no cost-effectiveness at all. I pay 4,000 yuan a month for rent in Futian, Shenzhen. You heard that right. Many people in Shenzhen only earn 4,000 yuan a month, but my rent is already reaching 4,000 yuan. What is it for? It's just so I can see a little bit of the sun, much better than those 1,000 or 2,000 yuan single rooms that are very damp, where you can't see the sun during the day, and your left foot hits your right foot. I thought 4,000 yuan would be enough to reach this standard. But what did I get? I got a place in an urban village, a fourth-floor apartment facing the street with no elevator. I don't know if you have ever rented a place facing the street. This street-facing side—if you are looking for a house now and are preparing to rent, you must, must not go [Video Clip] and rent a place facing the street, otherwise you will regret it. Below the street-facing side are all shops, every single one is a shop, and each shop has different business hours. Anyway, from day to night, 24 hours a day, there are people closing doors or opening doors. And then, the doors of these shops in Guangdong are those iron shutters that you push up and pull down, and they are super, super loud. And every night, they use those carts to load and unload goods, right? And it's very, very loud. You know that sound of the carts, it's very unpleasant, you know? Including the delivery drivers who come to deliver food every night downstairs, and from time to time, just when you are about to fall asleep or are already asleep, they honk their horns—beep—and your focus is instantly shattered. It's not an exaggeration. Okay. Even the pot lid is gone. Even the pot lid is gone.

It is a dead end. Seriously, if anyone asks what kind of job is still reliable inside the Great Firewall, if you ask me right now, I really can't name a single one. I really can't, because even civil servants might no longer have an iron rice bowl. Alright, that is all for this episode. Also, if you would like to support me, please join the membership channel. I hope to chat with you in real time during the next member-only livestream. So that is it for this episode, and we will see you in the next one.