Yet another one of China's elite has disappeared after criticizing Xi Jinping

MicroWave@lemmy.world to World News@lemmy.world – 667 points –
Yet another one of China's elite has disappeared after criticizing Xi Jinping
businessinsider.com

A top economist has joined the growing list of China's elite to have disappeared from public life after criticizing Xi Jinping, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Zhu Hengpeng served as deputy director of the Institute of Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) for around a decade.

CASS is a state research think tank that reports directly to China's cabinet. Chen Daoyin, a former associate professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, described it as a "body to formulate party ideology to support the leadership."

According to the Journal, the 55-year-old disappeared shortly after remarking on China's sluggish economy and criticizing Xi's leadership in a private group on WeChat.

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If you think the Chinese economy is bad now, wait 15 years. No amount of sending economists to the gulag will hide this disaster.

Edit: tankie downvotes are like nectar of the gods to me. Your precious CCP will wither like a plant in the desert.

I’ve already been banned from Hexbear. Bunch of assclowns over there.

Edit: and now lemmygrad

Lemmy.ml next?

That's easy mode, since Rule 2 is basically "don't write a fact about China."

"Everyone keeps banning me, I'm surrounded by assholes"

Hmm...

They are cosplay commie instances, and they all live in western countries especially the USA.

I browse by all and don’t usually check what instance I’m commenting in. They will swarm like fire ants if you don’t chirp like them. They also have very thin skin so I don’t think they would make good comrades if they ever reach their Utopia.

I won’t even get into the Hexbear because that’s too easy, but look at the mods for USA at .ml

they all live in western countries

I was told they were all Wumao from China and bots from Russia.

Arbitrary bans from overly sensitive mods? Straight to Jail.

Made a comment about tankies in lemmy getting mad over some news about China getting hit with influence ops by the US. Believe it or not, ban.

It’s okay man, it takes me a few seconds to scroll through all my bans. It’s funny because all these pro China dweebs are living in the USA. Can’t even commit to the bit and just sit there all day posting anti USA or western stuff. They are obnoxious.

They are privileged children sheltered from reality by mommy and daddy's money.

Why do you think Israel needs a fucking iron dome? Bunch of virgin clowns in here.

This you?

Who thinks Chinese economy is bad now??

92 upvotes would suggest a lot of people.

But everything you could say about China rings just as true in Europe, in Japan and Korea, in India, in Russia...

Global populations are heading for a heavy sag, but westerners only know how to heckle the Evil Foreigners.

Funny because I'm European, and the GDP per capita levels of most EU countries are at 2008 levels.

As for a population pyramid, China will face the same problem as other countries as you say, possibly more magnified.

EU countries are filling up with war and climate refugees. And... 2008 is one hell of a year to pick as your benchmark.

Yeah, blame the immigrants. Very .world thing to do lol. Taking Germany, for example, according to Wikipedia, 0.17% population growth per year between 2010 and 2020 doesn't seem too great for me, compared to China's yearly >4% GDP growth for example they'd reduce per-capita growths by an insignificant amount. I'm European myself, and I can tell you that the lack of GDP per capita growth between 2008 and 2024 isn't due to population reasons either, and I'm guessing it's the same for the bigger EU economies like France,Italy and Spain but feel free to correct me otherwise.

2008 as my benchmark is exactly my point: the European economy has only now economically recovered from the effects of its own self-imposed policy of austerity and deprivation of worker rights and welfare, without having restored said rights or welfare to pre-2008 levels. And we see countries like the UK under "labor" administration falling to the same policy again as soon as they enter the government. In the meanwhile, without falling into such policy (although without many significant victories for welfare and labor AFAIK), China has grown its per-capita GDP threefold since 2008.

So no, I don't think "Chinese economy looks bad", I wish my European country's economy would mimic a fraction of the Chinese growth actually

I'm not sure why you're getting downvoted that much

Lots of people, especially the Chinese. The sentiment about work, investment, economic prospects, consumption are all quite bad. The central bank is cutting rates. Just today the government dipped their toes into the helicopter money game. The only thing keeping the party going is exports

especially the Chinese

Source?

The sentiment about work, investment, economic prospects, consumption are all quite bad

Source?

https://tradingeconomics.com/china/consumer-confidence https://www.china-briefing.com/news/chinas-august-2024-economy-record-export-growth-amid-domestic-challenges/ https://www.euronews.com/business/2024/09/09/europes-luxury-goods-market-set-to-feel-the-pinch-as-china-growth-weakens https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/analysis-chinas-monetary-volleys-miss-key-threat-to-economic-growth/ar-AA1r9V9Q

Plus anecdotal stories from people I know that traveled to China in the past few months.

Basically, the post-COVID recovery was already slower than expected. Then the property sector all but halted. People are stuck with gig work and temporary contracts.

Why do you imagine the government is doling out money for the first time if everything is peachy?

ROFL, the consumer index that your first source portrays, is still twice that of Canada at 86 points Vs 45, and Germany's consumer index is -15 points... It's on par with Australia and Spain, so what does that tell you?

The rest aren't really indicators of Chinese people seeing the economy struggling aren't they? They're just western reports predicting the imminent collapse of the Chinese economy... as they've been doing for the past 20 years

I’m not going to do your homework for you. Suffice is to say China is still an emerging market and all indicators aside from exports are unusually low for the kind of economy China is. I don’t know what kind of point you’re trying to make because you seem to be skirting the issue. None of the pieces I linked proclaim China is about to collapse, only pointing out the challenges. Again: what the hell is your point?

What is this supposed to show?

This is what a healthy population looks like:

Even then, it isn't healthy, just healthier. The USA is still going to going to experience economic issues of a growing elderly population, it just won't be as bad.

The US have the benefit of essentially limitless immigration that they can adjust at will. On the other hand, China's leadership, being Han supremacist, is not receptive to immigration at all.

Immigration definitely helps, especially compared to China. I'm just noting that there will still be some decrease in the ratio of retired workers to current workers.

The US have the benefit of essentially limitless immigration

glances at US immigration policy

Does it?

China’s leadership, being Han supremacist, is not receptive to immigration at all.

Wit drier than a lint trap.

Does it?

People still pay upwards of $10,000 US to get smuggled into the country that they will only work in for 4 years as basic farm and factory workers in a house of 20 people.

The world is a mess and America is the gold mines of california with no gold in it. But a lot of people are getting rich selling immigrants the shovels.

People still pay upwards of $10,000 US to get smuggled into the country that they will only work in for 4 years as basic farm and factory workers in a house of 20 people.

You're just describing human trafficking. This is modern slavery. Might as well brag about all the Africans who moved here in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The world is a mess and America is the gold mines of california

Who can forget the huge influx of East Asian immigrants flooding into the California gold mines to be worked to death in the mines? Another excellent example of American prosperity.

Oh it's awful but I'm saying people are paying the privilege to be treated like shit in the US cause it's "better" than their crumbling local country or beats the idea of their false impression of their crumbling country of origin.

I didn't brag about it. But the US sure does have this happening at a rate hard to be ignored.

I mean I literally used an example that is historically known to have been basically a scam to import cheap labor and you still got defensive and hostile.

Your need to be right will kill any conversation you are part of.

Also you are wrong about how the east asian populace in California was used, as it often wasn't about working the mines as much as them racking up a debt trying to get rich and then owing money so that they could be used as cheap labor elsewhere. God do you even actually have a point or is it just be angry at whatever people say?

it often wasn’t about working the mines as much as them racking up a debt trying to get rich

That's debt peonage. And debt peonage is enforced through the violence of loan sharks, who serve the same function as overseers in a plantation system. African slaves were also roped into debt peonage as the first step in African export. You get told you owe X and have to work Y years to pay it off, then you get placed on a ship and sent halfway around the world to spend your most productive years working for someone else.

When you're exhausted, you're disposed of. There's never any real promise of "repaid debts". Its just a social convention used to gull people into working for free.

God do you even actually have a point

Yes. But the point offends you, so you're closing your ears to it.

Make your point then and make it factual? Cause so far you have said America doesn't have immigration to fall back on which it does in spades even though I agree it looks like, and is in all practicality, slave labor.

Then said, incorrectly, Chinese immigrants worked in mines and used unrelated other slave labor immigration as whataboutisms.

The point was that America can sell the idea of itself to keep import of cheap labor high and you have wafted about without a point just yelling at people about all the things you think are wrong with the world and nitpicking, poorly, other people.

You don't stay on topic and you basically don't have a point other than be angry. If you have a point make it. If you want to be angry and rant then fine but be honest about it and just be angry and rant.

You get yelled at because you slip off topic to sputter out a "fact" that you think wins an argument while it being tangentially related and off topic. Your dog dying is not a good excuse for failing gym class. Yes it's sad. But it's not the point.

Take this as a learning moment from someone that agrees with you and won't back down at telling you, find a different way to talk to people.

This "holier than thou" shtick where you say random factoids as a way to feel superior in a conversation ain't doing you favors and isn't accomplishing anything other than stroking yourself out. And it's fine if you want to do that but do it in private. We don't need to see you jacking off your ego.

Have you.... have you seen how Americans have been talking about the border? Especially this election cycle? I don't know if would characterize either party's constituencies as "receptive".

You realize there's more to immigration than the border between Mexico and the US, right?

I know they ignore it, but you don't have to follow along with them.

50 million immigrants in the US, and that data is 5 years old. Germany comes in second with 13 million. It’s not even close. I don’t see how a demographic crisis could happen, even if they hypothetically cut immigration in half

It's all talk. Corpos crave dirt cheap desperate immigrant workers and will make sure neither party messes this up.

According to the United Nations, in 2019, the United StatesGermany, and Saudi Arabia had the largest number of immigrants of any country

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_by_immigrant_and_emigrant_population

Was there supposed to be some argument or statement attached to this source, or..?

The US has the highest volume of immigrants in the world, 50x more than China. With or without a reduction of new immigrants that number will remain high.

Sure, the US has an advantage in raw number of immigrants versus China. No one is arguing that.

My point is that touting "our melting-pot-loving leaders" versus "their Han-supremacist demagogues" at the height of your unprecedented devolution into fascism isn't quite the own you think it is.

Never claimed to “own” you, but I’d argue this anti-immigrant rhetoric is exceedingly precedented for the US (see Chinese exclusion act, Japanese internment, Alien Act, etc). Even with those shameful events as a part of the US’ history, the nation has been a consistent and significant net importer of immigrants. That makes me confident that the US won’t face a demographic crisis in the same way China may (barring a change in Chinese policy)

The US have the benefit of essentially limitless immigration

Except that even in the Americas the population is declining. There is a limit to it. The US can outlast many other countries because of immigration but it too has to face the same problem as everyone else.

Not really. They are the #1 immigration destination. If the US runs out of potential immigrants that means every other country is far worse off. This game is like the old joke about outrunning a bear: you don't need to run faster than the bear — you only need to be faster than the guy next to you.

This is the new normal for highly developed economies. The best they can hope for is a 1 to 1 replacement of their population. We're not likely to see another baby boom occur.

We're not going to see a typical population pyramid any more. Because that means a large infant death rate and either war, disasters or a massive suicide epidemic cutting away the young adult population to get the pyramid shape.

Given that the amount of habitable land will decrease causing mass migrations, you don't need a 1 to 1 ratio to maintain a population size.

it just won’t be as bad.

glances at Ferguson

glances at Columbia

glances at the NYC subway

How bad are we talking?

I don’t see how any of that relates to a potential demographic crisis

thicc

Basically, yes. The sides are nearly parallel, which is great. Compare with China's, which forms a steep V. Once GenX hits retirement age they are completely screwed. The CCP's recent push for "traditional family values" and increased birth rates is no coincidence.

The birthing rates are only dropping, in 15 years all of those people will be to old to work but there are not nearly enough to replace them.

Still waiting

The glorious economy is always in the shitter it seems.

Enjoy the 996 becoming 7-10-7

What gives workers even less time to be consumers, making China even more dependant on overseas markets.

What does this mean?

996 = working from 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week, work schedule practiced currently in many companies in China

7-10-7 = I'm guessing 7am to 10pm, 7 days a week because of worker shortage?

Old enough to remember people talking about a 4 day work week and complaining about how many bullshit jobs our economy is swamped with.

But I guess we actually do have a sever labor shortage and all that surplus manufacturing jettisoned out into the global market simply isn't enough.

996 is a term the Chinese use to describe working 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week.