According to a Voice of Hope report, Hu Xijin recently wrote a post addressing the pension issue, claiming that ordinary Chinese people will not rely on the authorities when it comes to old-age support. The remarks sparked strong dissatisfaction among netizens, who criticized him for ignoring the social anxiety caused by the pension pool running dry and an aging population, arguing that his words were shifting responsibility onto the authorities, and accusing him of flattering those above while bullying those below, with no empathy for the survival struggles of ordinary people.