A spicy taste of freedom in China
As the economy slows, Chinese people show an independence outside the official narratives, such as a tourist rush to a city famed for its barbecue.
Chinese have flocked to tourist sites since the end of pandemic lockdowns. Here visitors enjoy a day at the West Lake scenic area in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.
AP
With China鈥檚 economy in trouble 鈥� a fifth of young people are jobless 鈥� official censors are working overtime to suppress online reporting of bad news. In addition, public skepticism about official data is rising. Yet the ruling Communist Party has another problem. When a mass of Chinese people creates an economic success story on their own, the party tries to take credit, while the truth about such freedom is hard to repress.
A startling event this year in China was the rush of millions of young people to the industrial city of Zibo after the lifting of COVID-19 lockdowns. Social media had spread word of Zibo鈥檚 hospitality and outdoor barbecue stalls. Videos on Douyin, the local version of TikTok, showed customers delighting in eating kebabs outdoors. In March alone, 4.8 million people showed up in a city of 4.7 million.
The 鈥渂arbecue craze鈥� was a 鈥渟ocial-media phenomenon unlike anything China has seen before,鈥� declared The Economist in May. Other cities inquired on how to copy Zibo鈥檚 success.
The party claimed it had sparked the tourist rush. Yet many online commentators noted the spontaneous nature of people traveling to Zibo. One respected blogger who writes about the economy, Wu Xiaobo, said the mass pilgrimage was 鈥渇ulfilling ... common people鈥檚 imagination of a free market: high-quality and affordable commodities, a hearty consumption experience, a market environment that is childlike and honest, and a humble and friendly 鈥榮mall government.鈥�
Zibo鈥檚 officials got out of the way of the craze more than they guided it. People were 鈥減articipating in a small experiment of democratization,鈥� wrote Mr. Wu.聽鈥淭his is an extremely humble goal, but it is so precious in today鈥檚 China.鈥�
He added, 鈥淵ou can never underestimate the silence and 鈥榲oting with your feet鈥� of the people.聽Today, when people鈥檚 wisdom has been developed, no slogan or declaration is worth a free barbecue.聽People don鈥檛 need sentimental 鈥榝atherly love鈥�, but only long for equality. People鈥檚 recognition of power has always been based on the common value of 鈥榩eople do not deceive themselves鈥�.鈥�
For that commentary and other 鈥渉armful information鈥� about China鈥檚 economy, Mr. Wu鈥檚 writings were banned June 26 by the Weibo social media platform. Given his prominence 鈥� he had some 5 million followers 鈥� the ban only adds to concerns that Beijing has returned to an old habit of distorting economic data as well as heavily controlling the media narrative about the economy.
Government statisticians are highly respected in China, but 鈥渋t鈥檚 not their job to ... just straight-up report data,鈥� says Anne Stevenson-Yang,聽managing principal of J Capital Research. 鈥淭heir job is to target a particular number and see whether the data can be twisted a little bit to meet that number.鈥�
The Zibo barbecue craze, now largely over in the heat of summer, may linger in the memory of Chinese people. Their wisdom, honesty, and longing for equality, as Mr. Wu noted, were on display in the city. In fact, he concluded, the phenomenon 鈥渋s the whole reality of China in 2023.鈥�