The Elephant Room

[Randy W]

Two Chinese girls' journey to understand China.

Elephant Room is an independent media project focusing on contemporary China's social, cultural and business innovations. We basically cover all the things that are not over-the-top but are genuinely fun, personal, and valuable to the world's China-curious minds.

 

 

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When the Weather Change

The wind is blowing.

Even worse, we found ourselves to be more drowned in the feeling of depression; that “we-are-all-doomed” back noise has now become the theme song that’s playing in our heads all day, every day.

What. Is. Wrong. With. Us?!

Unable to self-diagnose and cure, we decided to shift attention to other people first. Throughout September, we kept having conversations with our Chinese fellows; we asked questions, listened to responses, and soon realized there was a common theme to all of the personal stories at this point: everyone is feeling trapped in straitened circumstances of some sorts, and is losing faith about the country's, and their own future to varying extents.

The weather has truly changed, and the people are feeling it.

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. . .

“Of course the officials would deny such notion, but verbal denial is not enough to ease our anxiety. We are not fools! It is more than obvious that the government has decided to give us private businesses a hard time. I for one fear that we might not even be able to afford paying our employees next year!”

What Li was referring to is the social security reform, an effort to “crack down tax evasion” (“more like the government is bankrupted and using excuse to squeeze from us!” Said Li.) by scrutinizing private companies’ social-security contributions for their employees. The measures were announced to entry into force next January, and would be deadly for small to medium sized corporates due to the dramatic rise in labor cost.

Li’s company has over 200 full-time employees. In the past, Li as the employer had the room to negotiate with its employees in terms of the level of social security tax to be paid by the company. “Yes, we do pay less than the required level for some of them, but it’s totally consensual. Our HR would discuss with every employee upon their hiring, and for those accept us to pay less, we’d compensate through cash. It’s mutual and transparent, I’d even say it’s a win-win situation.”

. . .

According to Bloomberg, as of 2018, only 27 percent of firms in China pay their social society obligations in full. The evasions are for a good, or at least understandable reason: the tax is too much. In Beijing for instance, companies must pay 19 percent of an employee’s wage base in pension contributions, and another 10 percent for medical insurance. “We don’t want to do things this way, but tell me, what other ways can we do things?! ” Li shook her head and signed heavily.

“Well, not all private businesses are doomed. Those running immigration agencies are in honeymoon now!” Li laughed, “Netizens used to joke about immigrating every time a stigmatized event occurred, now, people are really moving abroad. A neighbor of ours was planning to buy a new house for her daughter, after a conversation with my dad she has now decided to use that money for immigration instead. Certainly wise I must say!”