Triple Crisis Ignites Public Anger — Is China on the Brink of Upheaval?

Mooncakes left unsold during the 2025 Mid-Autumn Festival: even holiday treats couldn’t find buyers, and shop owners lamented that they had “never seen anything like this.” (Video screenshot)

[People News] Under the triple assault of economic decline, political repression, and social trust collapse, mainland China’s livelihood crisis continues to worsen. Speech censorship is tightening, public services are deteriorating sharply, and public resentment is boiling like a volcano. The CCP regime, unable to govern effectively, has resorted to ordering officials to make “grassroots visits,” believing such stage-managed “pro-people shows” could soothe discontent. Yet these hollow displays do nothing to improve people’s lives. Ordinary citizens are no longer impressed — they’re increasingly disgusted. Analysts believe this crisis is not just economic, but a sign that the political system itself is approaching collapse.

Corporations Entering Agriculture: Exploitation in Disguise

According to Dajiyuan, a Chinese blogger, recently released a video mocking the authorities’ propaganda about “rural GDP,” calling it meaningless rhetoric that ignores farmers’ misery. Farmers work tirelessly all year, yet earn almost nothing; grain prices are too low to sustain them. The blogger argued that corporations entering the agricultural sector are in fact exploiting farmers, and that the much-touted policy of “rural revitalisation” has become an empty slogan. The result is hollowed-out villages — vacant houses, closed schools, elderly people in tears, dying livestock, and young people forced to migrate to cities for work.

But life in the cities is no better. Most migrants struggle in poverty, burdened by heavy mortgages. Their parents scrimp and save to support their children, only to face lonely and hopeless old age.

The blogger also condemned social ills such as GMOs, chemical additives, capitalist exploitation, high housing prices, and exorbitant costs for healthcare and education, all of which make life unbearable for both urban and rural residents. He urged the government to raise grain prices to keep farmers in the countryside — otherwise, “rural revitalisation” will remain a fantasy, with no one left to develop it.

Another blogger spoke even more bluntly, listing the nation’s cascading crises: “Food makes people sick; hospitals drain patients’ savings; education crushes parents; the internet destroys children; real estate bleeds the public dry; online shops kill brick-and-mortar stores; the stock market wipes out small investors; loans drive people to suicide; borrowing ruins friendships; and so-called experts mislead farmers.” He said these phenomena reveal a loss of medical ethics, moral decay in education, no place for goodness, and evil running rampant, urging people to awaken to the reality of a cannibalistic society — “no one will walk this path for you.”

Food, Housing, Healthcare, and Education: Crushing Ordinary Families

Several interviewees told People News that China’s economic situation is steadily worsening, posing a direct threat to everyday life.

Wang Ya (alias), a freelancer from Guangzhou, said: “Food prices keep soaring. Young people can’t afford homes. Medical costs are skyrocketing. Education expenses suffocate families. These basic necessities have become luxuries. The pressure on ordinary households is at a breaking point.”

In healthcare, an engineer surnamed Hu, who recently emigrated to the U.S., described shocking conditions: “Since the drug centralised procurement policy began in 2019, medicine quality has dropped year after year. By 2025, it will have reached an appalling state. Syringes are defective, anaesthetics are underdosed — there are even cases where patients wake up in the middle of surgery. This shows that under fiscal strain, the entire public health system is collapsing.”

In employment, Shanghai resident Yu Zhonghuan observed grim realities: “Foreign companies are withdrawing en masse. Young people can’t find jobs. Even security guard positions — once filled by retirees over sixty — are now being cut for those under sixty. Countless migrant workers can’t find work and are returning to their hometowns.”

The economic downturn is visible everywhere: two-thirds of shops in new high-end malls have closed, office towers are half-empty, and once-crowded streets now stand deserted. The sudden collapse of commercial vitality has left everyone feeling a chilling sense of fear.

Food safety scandals are also erupting across the country. Hu said: “Within just ten days of the new school term, three schools have already had mass food poisoning incidents. If even wealthy cities like Shanghai are having such problems, it means local governments have run out of money to maintain basic public safety standards. When finances fail, crises explode in the most brutal ways.”

Environmental degradation is worsening too. Hu noted: “Local governments and big taxpayers have formed vested-interest alliances. Under fiscal pressure, they’re even more inclined to turn a blind eye to pollution. From Shenyang’s toxic gas odours to Hangzhou’s sewage leaks, the environment is deteriorating everywhere — ordinary people’s living space is being relentlessly squeezed.”

Recently, Beijing’s introduction of the “K visa” policy sparked unexpected public outrage. Instead of easing tensions, it has deepened social divisions and heightened the already fragile mood.

Hu explained: “At a time when domestic university graduates can’t find jobs and wages are pitifully low, the government suddenly launches a low-threshold ‘foreign talent’ program. Isn’t that a slap in the face? These well-educated groups were once a key support base for the regime — now they’re asking: Who is this government really working for? This shows that the very foundation of the CCP’s political legitimacy is beginning to crumble.”

Panic Everywhere: Speech Control Tightens Further

Under CCP rule, the space for free expression continues to shrink — a reality shared by all interviewees. Censorship has reached the point of “seeing enemies in every shadow”, with no distinction between right and wrong.

Yu Zhonghuan said his WeChat account was banned six times for posting so-called “negative” comments before being permanently deleted. “If you post anything that differs from the official line, not only is your own account shut down — the entire group chat gets deleted, and everyone in the group risks losing their accounts too,” he said helplessly. “Even speaking on Twitter brings police officers to your door with warnings.”

The regime’s repression of rights defenders is even more brutal. Yu revealed a chilling detail: “As soon as petitioners buy a train ticket to Beijing, they’re immediately tracked. Many have been locked in black jails since May or June and still haven’t been released. They’ll probably be detained until all major political events are over. Families can’t even see them. The road to defending one’s rights has been completely sealed.”

Yu warned: “Those who can still speak up are being silenced one by one. Most people are angry but afraid to speak — yet that anger keeps accumulating in the dark. One day, it will erupt.”

Social Trust Disintegrating Across the Board

Under the dual pressure of worsening living conditions and speech repression, social trust is collapsing in a domino effect.

Wang Ya analysed: “Economic pressure and social conflict have driven trust between people to the freezing point. Everyone has adopted a self-protection mindset; neighbours treat each other like strangers, and communities have lost all cohesion. Years of state brainwashing have eroded moral boundaries — people will do anything for personal gain. Human nature has been twisted to a shocking degree.”

Among the public, anxiety over missing children has become particularly acute. Yu noted that many believe there are dark organ-trafficking networks behind the disappearances. Yet, he said, people have grown so self-centred that “they only care about their own children’s safety and are indifferent to others’ suffering. Such short-sightedness means that, in the end, no one is safe.”

Mr Hu also observed a disturbing trend: “University students have been disappearing with increasing frequency. The government not only fails to investigate but also actively covers up the cases. This abnormal behaviour has deepened public fear and distrust.” He added, “A significant portion of the population now fundamentally doubts the government’s competence and intentions. This loss of trust is shaking the very foundation of social stability.”

Even retired officials within the system are beginning to see reality clearly. Yu revealed: “Retirees from the public security and judicial departments privately admit they know better than anyone how serious the problems are. But to protect their vested interests, they still choose to defend the system. This hypocrisy makes society even more false and divided.”

Lawyer: The Moment of Change Is Approaching Faster

Mainland lawyer Chen Feng (alias) offered a macro-level analysis of the current crisis, exposing its deeper logic.

“Since the reform and opening-up era, rapid economic growth has masked the fundamental flaws of the political system. Ordinary people were busy making money and didn’t care about the structure of power. But now, as the economy plunges off a cliff, people suddenly realise that authoritarian power not only fails to improve their lives — it’s the root cause of their suffering.”

Chen believes the current awakening is unprecedented in both speed and scale: “Economic monopolies have created inefficiency, corruption scandals are constant, and the private economy is suffocating — a stark contrast with the privileges of the elite. Lies can no longer fool the younger generation. Many young people are scaling the Great Firewall to learn the truth, and various forms of resistance are multiplying.” He said the authorities are clearly aware of the danger: “The tightening of censorship and internet controls has one main purpose — to prevent the people from uniting. That alone reveals the regime’s fear. As the economic tide recedes, the primitive and backward nature of the political system is laid bare. This is both a moment of awakening for the people and the beginning of the system’s unravelling.”

Chen concluded: “Everything has its breaking point. Though the current situation brings hardship to the people, it also marks an important historical turning point. The moment of transformation is coming — and it’s coming faster than anyone expected.” △