In a dusty factory town in southwestern China, a 27-year-old worker cheated of 800 yuan ($100) in wages struck back by torching the factory where he had been employed, declaring, “We’re all going to die anyway.” The massive factory burned for three days, and when the fire finally went out, “Brother 800” was born, a viral symbol of despair and rage.
Chinese netizens have spread his story far and wide, and he has emerged as the voice of millions of laid-off, cheated and enraged workers across China. “Brother 800” has become a symbol of courage and vigilante justice, and this terrifies the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
China’s $17.7 trillion economy, once seemingly a beacon of prosperity, is crumbling under a devastating property crash, a crushing debt load and broken promises. From Shenyang’s ghost towns to Shanghai’s plummeting condos, the Chinese Communist Party’s pact with its people, riches in exchange for docility, lies in ashes. The key question for interested observers is whether “Brother 800’s” match will ignite a firestorm.
The collapse is rooted in systemic rot. For decades, local governments fueled growth by selling land, which accounted for 40% of local government revenue by 2020. The property bubble burst in 2021, when giant real estate companies like Evergrande collapsed along with property values and tax revenues. Shanghai, one of China’s wealthiest cities, has seen a 60% fall in real estate prices. That’s disastrous for any economy, but in China, it’s especially problematic because 60% of all Chinese wealth is tied up in real estate.
The popping of China’s real estate bubble is devastating enough, but it coincides with the introduction of massive U.S. tariffs that have gutted exports and employment, deepening an already gaping fiscal wound. Local governments, drowning in $13 trillion in debt, are selling hospitals in Guizhou and tourist spots in Yunnan in desperate attempts to stay afloat.
The human toll is heart-wrenching. In Shenyang, 90% of stores are shuttered, teachers are waiting six months for $400 in past-due wages, and many have to borrow to survive.
The government said youth unemployment hit 19.3% in 2022 (who knows what the actual number is), and the middle-aged are now locked out of the job market; one 41-year-old man, jobless for 18 months, is repeatedly told he’s “too old” for work.
The middle class has abandoned formerly mandatory piano lessons for their children, and high-end liquor prices have tanked. Over 500,000 small businesses closed in 2024 alone.
Beijing’s response is a masterclass in mismanagement. Aggressive tax audits scare off investors, while foreign direct investment hit a 30-year low in 2024 and has worsened since. A proposed property tax, tested in pilot cities, risks sparking protests from a middle class reeling from their collapsed wealth following the real estate bubble.
With homelessness and unemployment exploding, the CCP enrages the masses with their mandatory lies, claiming 5.4% GDP growth and 2% retail sales growth. “Brother 800’s” match lit up a factory, but the flames of despair and rage are spreading. Protests have erupted everywhere: Shandong teachers, Guangdong workers, Gansu nurses, all chanting for unpaid wages, their fury echoing “Brother 800’s” rage and defiance. China’s economic collapse has ignited a powder keg of anger aimed at Xi Jinping and the CCP.
As the dreams of a billion people go up in smoke, the ghosts of Tiananmen Square have been seen wandering the streets. This time, however, the protesters aren’t students with ideals, they’re workers with nothing left to lose.
Jeff King has served as International Christian Concern (ICC) (persecution.org) president since 2003 and is one of the world’s top experts on religious persecution. He has advocated for the persecuted everywhere, testifying before the U.S. Congress on religious freedom. He has been interviewed or quoted by most of today’s leading media outlets such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and The Washington Times. He is a three-time author and is available as a guest speaker. Jeff is also the host of “Faith Under Fire,” a podcast dedicated to helping Christians deepen and defend their faith. To learn more, go to the Jeff King Blog.
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