China youths

The Chinese Ministry of Education has announced that Xi Jinping Thought will be integrated into the school curriculum from primary to university level. What does this mean for students, and what is the aim of the authorities? Zaobao correspondent Wong Siew Fong takes a closer look.

As young Chinese leave their hometowns to work and live in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, single living vlogs are gaining popularity. Whether they are toughing it out or living it up, the Chinese youths of today seem to be rejecting their parents' lifestyles and yearning to chart a life of their own. Zaobao correspondent Wong Siew Fong speaks to some Chinese youths about the rise of single living vlogs.

China’s youth today are turning to Mao Zedong for inspiration amid a crushing sense of social immobility and injustice. But Wang Qingmin recalls the Mao era to be one of violent political struggles, anti-intellectualism, and cult of personality. Is a return to Mao really the answer?

Technology specialist Yin Ruizhi looks at the vast amounts of money tutoring agencies in China have been spending on advertising to generate quick wins. In the long run, students enrolled at such institutions suffer as they end up memorising material rather than truly learning. Seen in that light, the government’s recent intervention was a long time coming.

Caixin journalists take a look at China's after-school tutoring industry following a government clampdown that bans all tutoring related to the core school syllabus during vacations and weekends for students in elementary and middle school while barring private tutoring companies from going public or raising foreign capital. What is the industry doing to survive? Will they find new opportunities for themselves amid this major change?

The Chinese government’s recent crackdown on the tutoring industry is not a random act, says Chinese technology specialist Yin Ruizhi. If one has paid attention to media reports and government work reports, education has been an area of concern since 2013. Hence the "double reduction" policy is necessary and should not be a surprise if you have done your homework.

NUS academic Lu Xi notes the recent actions of the Chinese government in regulating the private tutoring industry, and how it has damaged market confidence, leading to an exodus of funds in China concept stocks. He asks if this seemingly ill-considered policy is again the result of extreme rigidity in the Chinese bureaucratic system, allowing no communication between those above and those on the ground. Is the government prepared for its consequences?

A recent case of sexual assault involving an Alibaba employee has once again turned the spotlight on the business drinking culture in China. Zaobao’s China Desk looks into the prevalent issue that does not seem likely to change anytime soon.

It is not new for the evils of capitalism to be criticised in China. But the recent crackdowns on whole sectors, be it tech, tuition centres, or online gaming, has businesses wondering what just hit them. Is this the state’s way of showing who’s boss, and how will China’s economic vibrance be affected?