海角大神

When Beijing labor official Wang Lin spent a day investigating life as a takeout food delivery worker last month, much more was riding on his stunt than on-time orders of dumplings and noodle soup.

Filmed panting as he raced up stairs and jogged down alleys, the balding bureaucrat was fined for a late delivery, got lost in the crowded streets of Beijing鈥檚 high-tech hub Zhongguancun, and earned just 41 yuan ($6.30) during his 12-hour shift.

But the overriding mission of Mr. Wang鈥檚 reality show-style adventure was less about exposing hardship in China鈥檚 gig economy 鈥� which now has some 7 million food delivery 鈥渞iders鈥� 鈥� than it was about dramatizing government concern over working conditions. This concern was underscored recently by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who called for 鈥減rotection of the legitimate interests of truck drivers, couriers, and food delivery riders.鈥�

The propaganda push reflects an effort by the Communist Party, which calls itself the vanguard of the working class, to appear proactive on sensitive labor issues, even as it wages an ongoing crackdown on grassroots labor organizers and activists who have long raised similar concerns, China labor experts say.

The dynamic offers insight into China鈥檚 top-down approach to economic grievances 鈥� one that combines responsiveness with repression and can lead to fitful, uneven progress. 鈥淩ight now, the attention is from the top down 鈥� maybe from the highest top, but ... it will just be short-term attention,鈥� says Li Qiang, founder and executive director of China Labor Watch, a New York-based nonprofit that supports China鈥檚 labor movement.

Unequal progress

The pattern has grown increasingly stark as inequality has surged during China鈥檚 shift over the past 40 years from Maoist collectivism to state capitalism, with wealth concentrated on the east coast as the interior lags behind. Despite China鈥檚 significant progress in reducing extreme poverty, about 600 million of its 1.4 billion people still have an average monthly income of 1,000 yuan (about $150), Premier Li Keqiang said last year.

China鈥檚 have-nots include hundreds of millions of migrants from rural areas who often do not enjoy the same safeguards as urban workers. Many join the gig economy as self-employed workers and so lack labor contracts and related legal protections. Like the food delivery workers, they are vulnerable to decreasing or unpaid wages and harsh, algorithm-driven working conditions.

The narrated video of Mr. Wang鈥檚 grueling day 鈥� including a scene of him sitting on a street curb in the darkness, sighing, 鈥淚 feel wronged鈥� 鈥� was intended to convey the government鈥檚 benevolence toward the critical but exhausted food delivery workforce, hailed as heroes during pandemic lockdowns.

To a degree, it worked. The video went viral on China鈥檚 internet and won praise in the Communist Party-controlled media.

鈥淲ang Lin鈥檚 guest appearance as a takeaway boy鈥� follows the tradition of leading party cadres 鈥済oing deep into the masses鈥� to 鈥渁ccurately reflect the people鈥檚 demands ... and make the flesh-and-blood ties between the party and the people closer,鈥� the official Xinhua news agency commented.

Grassroots pressure

Yet analysts say the party鈥檚 need to tightly control the narrative on labor issues has led to the repression of grassroots activists such as that of food delivery worker Chen Guojiang, also known as 鈥淢engzhu.鈥� Mr. Chen was detained together with four other delivery workers when Beijing police raided the apartment they shared three months ago.

鈥淭his was clearly a response to ... Mengzhu,鈥� says Eli Friedman, associate professor at the Industrial and Labor Relations School at Cornell University and author of 鈥淚nsurgency Trap: Labor Politics in Postsocialist China.鈥�

鈥淭he Communist Party can鈥檛 acknowledge that the reason it鈥檚 doing something is because there has been a demand from below. It always has to appear as if they are being benevolent,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey have to ensure that the state is the one getting credit for those improvements, not the workers themselves.鈥�

Mr. Chen and other food delivery workers formed a mutual aid network to address day-to-day needs, including legal advice and housing. In 2019, he helped establish a Delivery Riders Alliance and took the pseudonym Mengzhu, short for 鈥渓eader of the alliance.鈥� He set up chat groups with some 15,000 drivers, posted videos, and encouraged his 鈥渢akeaway brothers鈥� to take collective action against injustices.

In February, just before his detention, Mr. Chen led an online campaign that claimed a bonus program by the Ele.me delivery platform 鈥� one of the two largest in China, along with Meituan 鈥� was a scam. He posted a video that gained millions of views and stirred public criticism of the company.

Despite the campaign鈥檚 small scale, it brought a surge of public support and succeeded in pressuring Ele.me to issue an apology and promise compensation. But it also challenged the government鈥檚 control and so spurred the arrests that followed, says Aidan Chau, a researcher at China Labour Bulletin, a Hong Kong-based nongovernmental organization. 鈥淭his is something that I don鈥檛 think the government would be willing to see, a group which can motivate a lot of workers,鈥� says Mr. Chau.

In April, Mr. Chen was accused of 鈥減icking quarrels and provoking trouble,鈥� a charge often used against activists.

鈥淭heir repressive capacity is so encompassing that ... they can just crack down on that bottom-up movement, and then adopt potentially little bits and pieces of it again as they see fit and on their own terms,鈥� says Dr. Friedman.

Indeed, Mr. Wang鈥檚 day delivering for Meituan could be viewed as the party taking a page from Mr. Chen鈥檚 playbook. In the video, the party chief for the Beijing Human Resources Bureau tasks Mr. Wang, the bureau鈥檚 deputy director of labor relations, with the fieldwork聽鈥� which in turn generates public pressure for Meituan to treat drivers better. The Hong Kong-listed tech giant is also under investigation in China for antitrust violations.

鈥淚 won鈥檛 deliver food forever鈥�

China鈥檚 transition to capitalism saw a large increase in grassroots activism and strikes, leading to the passage of a labor contract law in 2008. But enforcement has been limited, and in the past 10 years the percentage of workers with a labor contract has decreased, Dr. Friedman says.

The tightening of party controls launched by Mr. Xi since he took power has also led to the detentions of scores of labor activists and closure of dozens of nongovernmental labor organizations since 2015. This leaves workers with few outlets to express grievances other than strikes. Beijing has urged gig workers to join unions, which in China must all fall under the official All-China Federation of Trade Unions, a wing of the party. But unions play a limited role as they tend to align with management.

Unofficial labor groups 鈥渨ill continue to exist, but they will be forced to remain more silent than before,鈥� says Mr. Chau.

Beijing is unlikely to regulate significant protections for gig economy workers, fearing that could worsen unemployment, Dr. Friedman says. Despite the long hours and low pay, some food delivery drivers say they like the freedom of informal work.

Mr. Yu, a young migrant from central Shaanxi province, came to Beijing six months ago and now earns about 4,000 yuan ($620) a month delivering food six hours a day for Meituan.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 have any problems鈥� with the work conditions, says Mr. Yu, who only gave his last name for privacy. Still, he says, 鈥淚 definitely want to do a different job in the future 鈥� I won鈥檛 deliver food forever.鈥�

Another Beijing rider, who delivers for FlashEx, and gave his name only as Mr. Wang, says he earns 12,000 yuan ($1,860) a month and saves half of it. After several more years, he plans to hang up his motorbike keys.

鈥淎lthough I鈥檝e got freedom with the Flash job, the work is intense, running the roads every day, and it鈥檚 risky,鈥� he says via text. He also has to silently stomach rude customers to prevent any friction. 鈥淚鈥檓 afraid of complaints,鈥� he says, 鈥渟o I endure it 鈥� if I can.鈥�