BEIJING When Yin Lijuan and Zhang Yingbing arrived from the country as migrant workers in Beijing, they had two goals. They wanted their own house and university degrees for their children.
My house was built in my home province of Hebei eight years ago. Five years ago, the younger son also graduated from university. The result of years of work calms the couple down.
– We have a place to go: our own yard and our own house, thinks 48-year-old Yin.
Yin and 55-year-old Zhang are still persevering under the pressure of China’s strict corona restrictions. The children’s growing up didn’t take money worries away. So the parents stay a few more square meters in their room in the shadow of the cement factory. The couple has a new goal.
– If the boys want to find a spouse, they must have apartments, Yin thinks.
Yin works as a salesperson in a shopping center and cleans. Zhang pours cement for his work. They have benefited from China’s prosperity, even though the work has been a heavy drudgery. The corona pandemic has made it even more difficult to make ends meet.
– Our income has halved due to the effect of the epidemic. If there was no epidemic, our situation would be much better, Yin sighs.
The restrictions just keep going
The corona pandemic has hit China’s hundreds of millions of migrant workers particularly hard, including Yin and Zhang. They make up a third of China’s workforce.
During the pandemic, entire residential areas and services have been closed due to just a few suspected infections. Many builders, repairmen, factory workers and other low-wage migrant workers lost their jobs. There was no support from the state.
– Migrant workers always suffer the most. Government employees still receive their salaries, but the wages of migrant workers decrease. That’s why I hope that brackets and quarantines will be avoided, says Yin.
Almost three years have already passed since the beginning of the corona pandemic. But in China, the restrictions do not seem to end. In the country of 1.4 billion people, there are about a thousand infections every day, the vast majority of which are asymptomatic. People have to take a corona test at testing kiosks about every other day.
The strict coronavirus policy makes it difficult to bridge the wealth gap of the people, which is the responsibility of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the heart of politics. Millions of migrant workers in big cities are in a wage crisis or without work for the third year already.
Wealth inequality is not new in China. The World Inequality Lab, which studies inequality in a recent report (you switch to another service) it is reported that one tenth of China’s population owns 70 percent of all household wealth.
There are 607 billionaires in China Forbes magazine (you will switch to another service) by. This is the second most in the world after the United States.
The work stopped when the shops closed
Yin works in a shopping center with a small basic salary and commissions available from sales. In addition, he cleans private homes.
At the beginning of the pandemic, sales practically stopped for months and they didn’t even get to clean. Shops in Beijing were also closed as a precaution. When the shops opened, the basic salary was cut by half and working hours were reduced. There are fewer and fewer customers and work.
The corona pandemic and the real estate crisis have also reduced construction. Zhang’s work as a cement pourer has decreased and his salary has been cut in half.
Zhang says that he is satisfied that the job still remains. Many cement manufacturing companies have already filed for bankruptcy.
“Hukou” prevents migrant workers from receiving support
Changing jobs or quitting is difficult for migrant workers, because pension and health insurance are tied to the job.
– If I quit, the social security that I have been paying for years would be cut off. But I can’t get by on my salary. The situation is not the best possible, Zhang thinks.
The share of migrant workers has always been heavy. They lack hukou, i.e. city resident’s rights to services. They are not allowed to acquire housing and their children are not allowed to study in public schools in the workplace.
Currently, due to the corona restrictions, many companies require migrant workers to resign if they leave the city. Yin’s father has been ill. Nevertheless, Yin and Zhang have not been able to visit their home in Hebei province for nearly three years.
– Every year I hope that maybe next year, Yin says.
Restrictions are a bigger threat than infection
If you could visit home, it would be difficult to return to Beijing. The authorities monitor the movement of people using a mobile phone application. If you have been close to infections, you may be banned from moving.
– You never know if a pop-up code prohibiting movement will appear in the health application. It might come while walking down the street, thinks Zhang.
Zhang recently received a message on his app that forbade movement. In the message, it was claimed that he was out of town, although he is constantly taking corona tests near his workplace.
The situation was annoying, Zhang admits. He was not allowed to leave his house and it was difficult to find out.
Continuous corona tests are not popular in China, even if censorship removes gossip from discussion forums. Zhang also wonders if the tests will be a huge expense for the administration, if despite them residents have to worry about sudden curfews.
Yin and Zhang have not been infected with the corona virus, as is not a large part of the Chinese population. Here, the everyday threat bigger than the disease itself is the restrictions. Yin and Zhang have been vaccinated.
– I hope that everyone would get vaccinated and the restrictions could be ended, says Zhang.
Yin is especially concerned about young adults. The couple’s sons work in Shanghai, whose millions of residents were locked in their homes for a couple of months last spring due to corona restrictions.
One of the boys was confined to his home for almost four months without work or pay. Parents helped by sending money.
Young people in trouble
– The pressure on young people is enormous. They are different from us. A small apartment like this is enough for us, but they need a better apartment. However, the money is not enough, so they have a hard time, Yin thinks.
Yin and Zhang live frugally. There is always food at home for at least a week and a half. So they say that even a quarantine wouldn’t hurt as long as there is enough food. Yin says she doesn’t have high expectations in life.
– We are not picky about food. Noodles, steamed breads, cabbage and potato are enough. We don’t need better.
The couple hopes that times will return to the way they used to be—one where they can visit their home in Hebei. Now life is stuck. But still, Yin and Zhang trust the rules of the Chinese government. They firmly believe that corona infection is dangerous.
– I wouldn’t always be able to handle these restrictions, but if it benefits the country and the people, I accept the situation. If we end the epidemic, the sacrifice will have been worth it, they say.
What do you think of China’s harsh corona measures? You can discuss the topic on 3.11. until 11 p.m.
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