Panel
3. Prosperity, the Pains of Growth and its Governance
During the Shanghai COVID-lockdown, “this will be our last generation” became an online meme. It was used by a young man who pushed back against police officers’ threats that his family would be punished for three generations if he refused to go to a quarantine camp. This narrative resonates with many Chinese youths post-COVID regarding their bleak political and economic future. Through in-depth interviews, this research engages with Chinese youths who intend to leave the country or have already conducted the act of “run”, leaving China to escape the potential political and economic reality. It focuses youths from urban middle-class backgrounds, analyzing their narratives about reproduction and their understanding of “a good enough” environment for childrearing. In doing so, this project highlights connections between recent changes in China’s political and economic landscape and the country’s plunging birth rate.
Siqi Tu
Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Germany