Last week, the Chinese government announced that it will raise the retirement age. The long-expected move is deeply unpopular but, the government holds, necessary to relieve strain on China’s work force and pension funds. The phased changes will raise the retirement age for men from 60 to 63 in 2040. Women in white-collar jobs will be expected to work to 58, while women in blue-collar jobs will now be expected to work until 55. At The New York Times, Vivian Wang reported on the change:
The government most likely realized it had no more time to delay, said Alfred Wu, a professor of public policy at the National University of Singapore, who noted that he was surprised by the speed with which the government had ultimately made its move. (The legislature had announced earlier this week that it was reviewing a draft law, and there was no public comment period as is common for many laws.)
“I think China has lost a lot of golden opportunities” to make the decision more palatable to the public, Professor Wu said. “Maybe another way is just to release it. Let people accept it, and they move forward.”
[…] “The decision reflects respect for individual wishes. It does not force everyone to reach the new statutory retirement age,” Xinhua, the official news agency, quoted a professor at Zhejiang University, Jin Weigang, as saying. [Source]
CDT has been tracking online anger over the potential change since this July’s Third Plenum, which included language presaging reform. Online reactions were highly negative to the Third Plenum document, with many expressing anger that deliberations over the reform were opaque and undemocratic. One Weibo user wrote: “Shouldn’t they ask the public what it thinks about such a big change? Or maybe put it to a vote?” The Economist reports this week that anger and censorship remain the predominant reactions to the change on Weibo:
The evening news did not bother with a follow-up report. But Chinese netizens were very much bothered by the government’s actions. Posts with the hashtag “reform to delay the statutory retirement age” have garnered more than 860m views and over 240,000 comments on Weibo. Censors have been swift to move in. More than 5,100 of these comments were posted below an early report by Xinhua, the government’s main news agency. Try reading these now; fewer than 30 remain. None of them are disapproving.
But anger abounds among comments still visible on less-filtered accounts. “Capitalist exploitation has reached the common people. Brilliant!” wrote one in a typical thread. “So, who was the People’s Congress representing?” said another, referring to the country’s rubber-stamp legislature that suddenly approved the reform without any public consultation. A third weighed in: “Corrupt officials would love to work for ever.” And another: “If this continues, society will descend into chaos.” [Source]
Demographics are a primary driver of the reform. Chinese life expectancy has lengthened significantly since the retirement age was originally set in the 1950s. Birth rates have also declined significantly. By the middle of the century, the elderly are likely to make up 40% of China’s population. The government increasingly hopes that the elderly can continue working. In May, a former top Party economic official called for “youthful elderly people” to seek “re-employment” in their 60’s and 70’s. The comment was met with derision online.
Labor markets aren’t the only thing undergoing transformation as China ages. Consumer markets are too. At The New York Times, Claire Fu and Daisuke Wakabayashi reported on China’s “silver economy” targeted towards splurging seniors:
Dairy companies that produced formula for China’s infants are now developing powdered milks for seniors. Proprietors of preschools and kindergartens are closing those facilities to start senior care centers. A technology firm that made devices for parents to track their young children is now designing products allowing grown children to keep tabs on their aging mothers and fathers.
[…] In 2019, citing “the advent of an aging society,” the [Chinese cybersecurity firm 360 Security Technology] introduced smartwatches for seniors with features such as blood pressure and heart rate monitors, location tracking for concerned family members and one-click emergency calling.
[…] Ms. Zhang, [a teacher who responded to a kindergarten job posting only to learn it was actually a nursing home], said she was told that the position had been advertised that way because many of the responsibilities are the same. She said her new job is similar to her old one: She leads a class in singing and dancing and teaches arts and crafts. She sends pictures of her students eating lunch to their guardians, usually their grown children. [Source]
