Inequality

[Video] Why young Chinese are losing faith in the pension system

China’s social security system covers more than a billion people, yet many young workers hesitate to pay in. Wide payout gaps, ageing pressures and low wages are eroding trust in pensions meant to secure their future. ThinkChina’s Yi Jina finds out more.

Yi Jina

16 Jan 2026

Censored but unstoppable: How male desire and grievances go viral in China

Chinese authorities have set out another campaign to stamp out online negativity, now with the men from the lower rungs of society its target. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Zhang Guanghui takes a look at why talk of “Android”, “Apple”, “sexual repression” and “ligong (力工) show hand” has come under the authorities’ cross hairs.

Zhang Guanghui

06 Nov 2025

[Big read] From 80 square feet to a home: New hope for Hong Kong’s poor?

Hong Kong’s persistently high property prices have left hundreds of thousands of its residents with little choice but to rent subdivided units with terrible living conditions. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Tai Hing Shing speaks to residents to find out if government initiatives are helping.

Tai Hing Shing

08 Oct 2025

[Big read] Why China’s funniest women are also its most controversial

As Chinese female stand-up comedians challenge deep-rooted gender norms, critics accuse them of fuelling gender divides. But comedy is only exposing what has long festered across film, gaming, and public life. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Zeng Shi finds out more.

Zeng Shi

15 Sep 2025

China wants everyone to pay into the pension system — not everyone will

China’s pension mandates face scepticism, as employers and workers frequently bypass the regulations, undermining their intended effect. Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong explores the issue.

Han Yong Hong

28 Aug 2025

Revenge on Gold Diggers: China’s hottest game sparks gender war

A new video game in China has reignited the gender debate, with its premise of women as “gold diggers”. Is it misogynistic, or realistic? Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk looks at the line between raising fraud awareness and pointing fingers.

China Desk, Lianhe Zaobao

01 Jul 2025

China’s underground surrogacy industry: Operating in the shadows

Surrogacy in China disproportionately affects vulnerable women, exacerbating gender inequality. While declining birth rates pressure the government to address the issue, legal and ethical dilemmas hinder legalisation. The industry persists in a legal grey area, posing ongoing challenges. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk looks into the matter.

China Desk, Lianhe Zaobao

19 Nov 2024

The chaos of America is what makes it great

Political infighting within and between parties, a ballooning federal debt and a widening income gap; these are just some of the multitude of challenges that the US is dealing with now. However, commentator Jin Jian Guo says that even amid the chaos, the US environment that supports innovation and diverse values is what helps it thrive globally.

Jin Jian Guo

01 Nov 2023

Can China's economic choices build its dream society?

As the world's second largest economy, China's domestic consumption has a major influence on the global economy. The Chinese government has said that its focus is on boosting China's domestic economy and consumption. But how should it go about achieving it? Researcher Ding Ke says it depends on the kind of society China wants to build.

Ding Ke

29 Mar 2023

It's not just China: Asia faces a shrinking population

Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Peter Ong looks into why Asian countries are facing a declining population, especially those that have witnessed successful economic transformation. What social conditions have led to the staggeringly low birth rates? And is migration a solution?

Peter Ong

27 Feb 2023

Can capitalists ever feel at ease in socialist China?

The Chinese Communist Party has yet to resolve in theory and in practice two great issues: the ever widening rich-poor divide and the question of capitalists' place in a socialist market economy. This is why the slogan "common prosperity" caused widespread panic across the private sector when it was first put forth. How will the authorities prove that "the rich will never be robbed in order to help the poor"?

Lance Gore

22 Aug 2022

Female representation in the Chinese leadership: Countdown to CCP's 20th Party Congress

Li Cheng, director of the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, notes that while the Mao-era slogan of "women hold up half the sky" is often repeated, only one woman serves on the current 25-member Politburo (4%), and no woman has ever served on the Politburo Standing Committee, the supreme decision-making body in the country. He asks: what are the prospects for women leaders at the 20th Party Congress? Who are the prominent female candidates for the upper echelons of the CCP leadership?

Li Cheng

19 Aug 2022