China’s Endless Work Hours: A Legacy of Struggle or Policy Failure?

hi welcome to ding to China dongan where we explore China in depth to review unique perspectives a recent new story has drawn widespread attention Brazil's labor department has accused the Chinese company byd of exploiting its workers according to the department Chinese laborers building byd factories in Brazil are subject to conditions akin to slavery reports indicate that these workers often work seven days a week and are largely confined to their dormitories with their passports confiscated and their freedom of movement restricted the Brazilian government has compared byd's actions to modernday slavery it is no longer the 19th century we are now in 2025 for China to still depend on Brazil to safeguard the rights of its workers it's a great embarrassment indeed Brazil has every reason to criticize China according to official data from China the average work week for Chinese laborers is 49 hours while in Brazil the average is 39.4 hours over a full day less per week than in China why do Chinese people work so hard what are the underlying reasons for their struggles in this discussion I'll explore why life is so difficult for Chinese people and why I believe the hardships they face are a result of both shiin pin's policies and influence of China's traditional culture to start although I'm using working hours as an example to highlighted the hardships faced by Chinese people the struggles extend beyond just work from a young age including our education nearly everything we do is demanding in my opinion these hardships are largely driven by two factors Shi jinping's policies and a China's traditional culture let's begin with China's traditional culture however believe the hardships caused by this culture are not limited to China alone but extend across the entire East Asian cultural sphere the five countries South Korea Taiwan China North Korea and Vietnam share a similar cultural Foundation Japan sometimes included in this group as well a common trait among people in these Asian East Asian Nations is that life tends to be difficult with long working hours and a demanding academic Mees for instance Beyond China's prevalent 996 work culture Japan and South Korea have long grappled with the problem of overwork related death the intense pressure to focus on studying from a young age isn't exclusive to China either similar challenges can be found in South Korea Taiwan and other regions a common explanation for these hardship is the idea that the East Asian country cultivates a strong ability to end end difficulties there are also numerous theories as to why East Asians in particular excel at enduring heartships some attribute it to East Asia's long history of Imperial rule which they believe has cultivated a submersive mindset others point to confusion culture which emphasizes endurance and hard work among these theories I find Gia Hof's cultural Dimension theory developed by the renowned sociologist to offer the most insightful explanation of East Asian cultural characteristics Hy suggests that East Asian culture Traditions are deeply rooted in long-term orientation this perspective emphasizes enduring hardship now for future rewards suffering first to enjoy Comfort later and striving for lasting happiness essentially it reflects a preference for delayed gratification which explain LS the widespread ability to of East Asians to endure challenges in contrast Western countries often lean towards a mindset of immediate gratification Hop's research highlights this difference with East Asian countries scoring highly in long-term orientation South Korea at 100 Taiwan at 93 Japan and 88 in China at 87 in comparison Brazil scores 44 while the United States ranks even lower at 26 this long-term orientation encourages people throughout the East Asian culture sphere to take on high intensity work however East Asian country and its focus on long-term goals are not the only reasons for China's excessively long working hours and groeling Lifestyles currently working hours in Japan South Korea and Taiwan are relatively moderate South Koreans work about 1,900 hours annually Taiwan around 2,000 hours and a Japanese even less at under 1,600 hours while these figures remain high higher than in many other countries they are far from China's astonishing average of approximately 2,450 hours per year so what distinguishes China from these countries this brings us to another key factor the personal influence of Xi Jinping looking at history I often say that the histories of Japan South Korea and Taiwan especially South Korea and Taiwan represents a more advanced versions of China in earlier periods these countries also experienced long working hours Japan's Peak came in the 1970s and the 1980s when the average annual working hour reached 2,200 South korean's Peak came after the 1980s when annual working hours hit 2,500 similar to China's current situ situation taiwan's Peak likewise occurred in the 1980s with working hours averaging between 2300 and 2,400 annually similar to China today however after reaching these Peaks the working hours in these countries started to decline so why did they experience a reduction in working hours after they Peak after their Peak while China has not is it because China's development is not yet at the right stage to answer this we need to look back at historical context behind their decline in working hours looking back at the histories of South Korea and Taiwan we see that their Peak working hours occurred between the 1980s and the 1990s what was the historical backdrop during this time essentially both countries has reached the peak of their development as emerging economies and on the brink of transitioning into developed Nations this also marked the peak of a particular economic model the labor intensive economy the early development Paths of China South Korea and Taiwan were quite similar with all three rapidly growing by becoming Global manufacturing hubs a key factor in their success as the world's Factory was the long-term orientation inherent in East Asian culture which fostered a spirit of intense competition and involution one might wonder why East Asian countries like China became the world's manufacturing Hub rather than Latin American countries the answer lies in the fact that the workforce in Latin America is less willing to endure grueling 996 work hours without this willingness the efficiency of a labor intensive economy would suffer leading international capitals to avoid setting of The Productions in these countries since South Korea and Taiwan developed earlier than China by the 1980s and 1990s they had already reach the peak of developing nations this signifies the end of the labor intensive model once a developing country reaches its peak the next step is to become a developed Nation to achieve this it's clear that relying on cheap labor is no longer visible I sorry no longer viable instead the technological Innovation is essential at this stage both South Korea and Taiwan recognize the problem they realized that continuing to extend working hours was no longer sustainable as a result both countries began to shift their approach they started reducing working hours and moved away from relying on cheap labor and the intensity of work as the main driver of economic growth instead they focused on improving workers wages and condition enhancing public welfare and developing stronger markets their goal was to promote technological advancement through Market driven growth making it the core of their economic development at this point South Korea and Taiwan also began their transitions to democracy from this Viewpoint China should have reached a similar turning point where labor hours could start to decrease by around 2018 China had already reached the peak of a developing nation and needed to move toward becoming a developed country this meant that relying on intense labor was no longer s sustainable and China needed to start its own transformation however this transformation clearly did not happen in China after 2018 China's working hours actually begin to increase the reason for this shift I believe is largely due to shing under his misguided views and flawed economic policies China ended up taking a completely different direction a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal revealed that shiin Ping's understanding is so lacking that he doesn't even grasp the risk of deflation according to sources close to top aongs of the Chinese Communist party she once asked his advisor what's wrong with deflation isn't it good that the prices are lower what's even more concerning is that because of this lack of understanding deflation has become a taboo topic within China's policymaking circles this passage from The Wall Street Journal highlights that Xi Jinping as the head of China's economy lacks fundamental economic understanding while it's not expected for the general public to be familiar with the dangers of deflation it is truly shocking that she as China's top leader has such a significant Gap in this crucial area of knowledge sometimes a lack of Common Sense isn't the most alarming issue even if the person is the highest leader of the country in XI jinping's case Beyond his lack of Common Sense he operates with his own ideological framework this ideology is a blend of East Asian or confusion culture and a Marxism within this framework she firmly believes that the production drives everything downplaying the importance of demand for him increasing production alone can resolve all economic problems additionally influenced by Marxism she emphasize the importance of government planning viewing Capital as chaotic and inheritant evil and arguing that technological innovation should not be driven by consumer demand in the market economy but should instead be directed by the government in this framework the solution to overcoming the middle inome trap and achieving developed Nation status for China revolves around the significant government support for High Tech Industries to boost productivity however this approach ultimately leads to a more difficult life for ordinary Chinese citizens some might not immediately grasp how shiin Ping's approach is linked to the struggles of daily life the logic behind it is this a government's resource are limited and those resources can either be used to stimulate consumption or boost production in a deflationary environment what are the outcomes of consistently prioritizing production over consumption this situation inevitably leads to decrease consumption and an over supply of products with less demand and too many Goods in the market business struggle to sell their products despite this the central government continues to push for more production as a result business profits are f squeezed to cope with lower profits companies are forced to cut cost by squeezing their workers paying them less and extending their working hours in order to maintain profitability the end result is that the Public's quality of life deteriorates as they work longer for Less this strategy will undoubtedly make life harder for the people but shiin ping is aware of it in his perspective The increased hardship is seen as a necessary sacrifice even viewed as a competitive Advantage for China a Financial Times report earlier reviewed that the Central Technical officials and the political commissars had a heated debate about Trump's 60% tariff during the discussion a politic Bureau member stated we were able to defeat them before and we can do it again the reason we can win is because we can endure hardships while the Pampered Americans cannot this mixture of ideology has driven shimpi into a dangerously obsessive State resulting in a fragmented Chinese economy the massive production stimulus has failed to Spur growth and instead led to excessive overc capacity she's approach persist this year with roids reporting that China plans to issue a record of three trillion Y in Bonds in 2025 the primary goal is to support high-tech Industries and help companies upgrade their equipment continuing to focus on stimulating production given this policy it appears that the hardships for the Chinese people are far from over in reality enduring hardship isn't something that scares the Chinese was it not tough during the previous H Administration it was and the labor rights were not well protected at that time however people didn't complain much the key difference was that even while enduring the hardships they were earning money and watching their lives improve little by little with their assets growing along the way a similar issue exists with China's University entrance exam system the pressure of studying is intense and there has have long been complaints about exam system however in the past people were more willing to accept it because to some extent the exam provided a real opportunity for ordinary individuals to change their lives but now it's different I've endured so much working long hours every day yet my wealth hasn't increased and there's no room for personal growth after all these years of hard study it feels like it's all been for nothing as if my efforts didn't make any difference Chinese people in East Asian culture are not opposed to hardship in fact enduring hardship is a defining trait the issue arise when hardship does not lead to Improvement or even worsen their situation this is why I believe the hardship faced by the Chinese people is shaped by both shining's policies and the traditional cultural influences historically the hardships during the previous administration the H1 era did bring some positive results people endured difficulties with the expectation of earning more and this struggle contributed to China's economic growth South Korea and Taiwan also experienced a similar challenges during the same period the hardships of that time were paired with significant wealth growth so they weren't necessarily perceived as true hardship in contrast today's struggles are different they feel like pure hardship suffering without any tangible rewards the core issue with shiin Ping's approach is that China has moved beyond the stage where enduring hardship was the focus it has reached a point where the competition should be centered on technological innov ation unfortunately Xi Jinping seems unaware of this shift he believes that Innovation and economic progress can be driven by pushing the people to work harder essentially manufacturing hardship however the country remains on this misguided path under his leadership at this point it seems that shi Jinping is determined to continue down this current path and the only way for the Chinese people to end their s in may be to end his rule I believe that day will eventually come though I hope it arrives sooner that rather than later thank you so much for watching if you find this video helpful please like it drop a comment below and hit the Subscribe button right here it'll really help YouTube suggest my video to others I'll be back with more content soon until then be well