China's middle class: We're being picked like leeks by the government

CNN ^ | Updated 9:17 PM ET, Sat November 3, 2018 | Serenitie Wang

[Zhang Fei]

Beijing, CNN (CNN)Spike Wang, a 29-year-old financial professional based in Shanghai, is struggling to live the Chinese dream.

Wang is one of millions of Chinese middle-class men and women who grew up in a roaring economy. Now, amid soaring rents and a plunging stock market, they are finding daily life increasingly difficult.

The past year has been especially tough.

Like many middle-class investors, Wang dumped most of his shares in Chinese stocks after his portfolio suffered a 40% loss in just two years.

Unable to afford a 37% rent increase, he left his old apartment in Beijing this year and moved to a cheaper apartment in Shanghai. But he still found the cost of living in China hard to handle.

"I can clearly feel that groceries are more expensive, especially in the second half of the year," he said.

The problem of economic distress among Chinese citizens is so common that there is a buzzword on China's cybersphere for people like Wang -- "jiucai" or leeks.

"I'm a typical leek that is picked in the stock market, rental market and as a consumer," said Wang.

Middle-class Chinese consumers call themselves "leeks," the popular green vegetable used in a Chinese cuisine, to express their fears about the economy or financial issues online.

It's a self-deprecating term implying they are being played for suckers, just faceless vegetables harvested by big companies and the government, especially amid the escalating US-China trade war and slowing economy.

Tongue-in-cheek reactions such as "the government is going to harvest the leeks again" or "we're being picked like leeks" are common among members of the middle class.

The forgotten people

China's middle class has rapidly expanded over recent decades amid an enormous economic boom which showered the country's citizens with unprecedented wealth.

[mikeIII]

I find your China narratives difficult to reconcile with my own experience - albeit brief. Are Chinese allowed to travel, settle and work anywhere they wish in China? Is it possible to criticize the ruling Communist Party? Isn’t most of the middle-class comprised of the Communist Party elites or their children?

What kind of religious and political freedoms do the Tibetans have? How would you explain the forced confinement of 1M+ Uighurs?

I know Shanghai rivals any advanced western city. But this and the middle-class elites represent a tiny portion of China.

[vannrox]

Are Chinese allowed to travel, settle and work anywhere they wish in China?

Yes, of course. Don't be silly.

Is it possible to criticize the ruling Communist Party?

Nope. They make the rules. Is it ok to to criticize Hillary Clinton without risking your life?

Isn’t most of the middle-class comprised of the Communist Party elites or their children?

No. No. No. What a load of BS. I think you really need to read my posted links, because your imaginations are way, way off the deep end.

What kind of religious and political freedoms do the Tibetans have?

I have no idea. They live far away from me. Tell me, what about the religious freedoms that the Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut have? How about the businesses that they own and start up?

How would you explain the forced confinement of 1M+ Uighurs?

I don't know. I don't know any Uighurs. Do you? I do know that they attacked a train stain and killed a few hundred people.

I know Shanghai rivals any advanced western city. But this and the middle-class elites represent a tiny portion of China.

Nope. You are very, very wrong.

Your perceptions sound more like a rehash of talking points off CNN or MSNBC. I would strongly urge you to buy a ticket and visit it yourself. In lieu of that, just read my post HERE.

Meanwhile, Im' just going to sit drinking my wine, go ahead smoking my stogie and petting my dog inside Starbucks here in China. China is not what you think it is. Not by a long shot.

My argument is a simple one. The world outside of America does not look like a "save the children" commercial. China is no longer run by hard-line communists, it is run by Chinese conservatives following free-market (Deng) policies. It is not a democracy, and I am glad that it is not.

Do you know the first shock that I had when I moved to Massachusetts? It was that I was not allowed to pump my own gasoline in the car. I was outraged. But you know what, after a while, I liked the law. I did not pay more for the privilege. The so-called value added savings for pumping my own gas was just a marketing gimmick to get me to do work instead of the stations having to hire people to do it.

I live in China. There are things that I do not like about it. For instance, I really miss a Ruben sandwich. But overall it's ok.

I note that the questions that you raise are NOT about your day to day life. You raised key issues promoted by the American media. Day to day issues are the cost of Netflix movies, the traffic going to work, the taxes you pay, and how easy it is to get healthy food. You didn't ask me any of those things. You asked me about soundbites...

What the heck doe the Uhiguars have to do with me? Nothing. What do they have to do with you? Nothing. So why talk about them?

[mikeIII]

Good for you, you’re in Starbucks with your dog and not in an ethnic restaurant!

[mowowie]

Interesting links
Thank you