Chinese Civil Servants Are Collapsing: No Paid for 9 Months, Many Forced to Buy Valueless Bonds

Chinese Civil Servants Are Collapsing: No Paid for 9 Months, Many Forced to Buy Valueless Bonds

Chinese Civil Servants Are Collapsing: No Paid for 9 Months, Many Forced to Buy Valueless Bonds

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in mainland China, the economy has been in a standstill, with news of massive salary cuts for civil servants, teachers, and public-sector employees beginning to surface in 2020. In June 2022, Chinese financial news website Caixin.com reported that civil servants across many eastern coastal areas of China had been hit by a wave of salary cuts. Various self-established bonus subsidies were cancelled, with civil servant salaries being reduced by around 20 to 30 percent. The report indicated that civil servants in Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu were severely affected. A section-level cadre in Longhua District, Shenzhen, estimated that their income would be cut by more than 20 percent. Previously, with bonuses and subsidies, their annual income could reach about 370,000 yuan. In Southern Jiangsu, a deputy section-level cadre experienced a salary cut of approximately 25%, reducing their take-home pay by about 100,000 yuan. Meanwhile, a grassroots section staff member in a town in Ningbo, Zhejiang, had their bonus, which accounted for 40% of their income, completely cut off.