CCP Universities Call on Students to Go to Rural Areas for Work Amid Unemployment Crisis

Chinese universities controlled by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have told college graduates to go to the countryside for work, as China’s youth unemployment rate remains high. The Chinese public has noticed that this is reminiscent of the massive “sent-down youth” movement during Mao’s era, which forced tens of millions of city students to permanently relocate to rural areas. According to public data, the number of college graduates in mainland China is expected to reach 11.79 million this year, an increase of 210,000 compared to the previous year. The surge is likely to exacerbate the already intense employment competition. In response, authorities at colleges and universities across China have recently issued open letters urging graduates not to focus on finding civil servant positions or continuing their education. Some colleges and universities have also suggested that students go to rural areas to “help poverty relief.”...