Chinese Younger Individuals Are Shedding Hope

Lying flat emerged 4 years in the past as a counterculture motion to the Chinese regime’s draconian pandemic lockdowns. Chinese youth, rejecting the grueling rat race, sought a unique life-style: doing the naked minimal.

They have since taken it to a different degree. Ignoring the urging from Chinese authorities to work arduous, they name themselves “rat people” and spend their days “rotting” in mattress.

The days they doc on Chinese social media go one thing like this: crawling away from bed round midday or later, showering, cooking or ordering takeout, consuming whereas scrolling their telephones, extra bedtime, then extra meals and doomscrolling—or gaming—till the wee hours.

The job market in China has principally dried up, and faculty graduates are scrambling to seek out any jobs they’ll get, principally involving meals service and supply jobs. This has dashed their expectations and hope. This has additionally led to falling marriage charges and a decline in households. Most younger individuals interviewed had the identical factor to say: “I have no desire for dating or marriage, let alone children. I can barely sustain myself.”

Alan Li, 22, has been within the courier service for 3 years within the southeastern Chinese metropolis of Suzhou. To get monetary savings on hire, he lives in a tent beneath a bridge.

“Marriage is for rich people,” he instructed The Epoch Times. “Do you have a house, car, or savings? What will our children eat after marrying? Will there be money for baby formula?”

“It’s way too much pressure.”

And this “lying flat” motion has generated some disturbing traits in society—like younger adults shopping for pacifiers for themselves; calling one another (and strangers) “baby”; ready in traces for psychological well being clinics; and even “zero cost survival,” which typically means scouring meals market dumpsters for discarded produce and dwelling in tents or staying with mother and father indefinitely.

Recently, “China has been investing more in ideological indoctrination, mandating that all college majors study Marxism, Xi Jinping Thought, and Chinese socialism.” And how is that working for them? The article goes on to say that what the CCP preaches contradicts actuality: “If the Party is so great as they claim, then why are people in such a mess?”

Since these world techniques are incompatible with Christianity, they produce hopelessness whereas on the identical time destroying the household.

This ought to be taken as a warning to Western nations as nicely. Communism and socialism usually are not the solutions to the world’s issues. Since these world techniques are incompatible with Christianity, they produce hopelessness whereas on the identical time destroying the household. And sadly, there are politicians implementing socialism within the USA! It shall be a catastrophe right here because it has been in all places else it’s been tried. So what’s the resolution to this epidemic of hopelessness in China?

It is the gospel, which not solely saves us but additionally provides us hope. Ephesians 2:12–13 tells us that earlier than we had been saved, we had been with out hope. But Romans 5:1–2 tells us, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

As I’ve detailed earlier than,

Chinese Christians can’t legally host Sunday faculty courses, convey their youngsters to church, or educate their very own youngsters their Christian religion. Teachers can’t share their religion, and non secular supplies can’t be used as textbooks. Those who break the regulation can face fines or different penalties.

Is it any surprise that this has precipitated a way of hopelessness and frustration? And Chinese younger individuals are seeing via the false guarantees of communist ideology, realizing it’s a system that solely produces despair.

My message from 2019 is identical that I might give right now:

Pray for Chinese Christians. Pray for the mother and father in China and their youngsters. No matter what the federal government says about our Christian religion, we should obey God and never males (Acts 5:29). So I do know many mother and father will defy the federal government and share the excellent news of Christ with their youngsters. Pray for his or her safety and boldness. Above all, pray that many individuals—together with youngsters of all ages—will come to religion in Christ.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

This merchandise was written with the help of AiG’s analysis crew.