One of the biggest recent topics in China’s news media has been the stark contrast between the opportunities available in China to the sons and daughters of the powerful and the wealthy — the fu’erdai and guan’erdai — and the relative helplessness of unconnected young graduates, who simply can’t find jobs. This issue has focused attention on the deep inequities that have come with economic growth in China. And the issue is backgrounded by the more urgent question of what sort of reform, including political reform, might be necessary to address these problems. In this cartoon, posted to the QQ blog of Zhang Bin (张滨), deputy director of the China News Cartoon Research Institute (中国新闻漫画研究会) and a top editor at Guangzhou Daily, a figure who is perhaps an office manager or company boss, introduces the pumpkin-headed son of an official (identified by the two characters, “fuyin”/父荫, on the piece of paper in his hands, a term referring to those who get official posts on the basis of their parent’s political and business connections). Introducing the new hire, the manager says to presumed doubters outside the picture: “So he has no head! But, look, his connections are great!” For more on this issue, see CMP fellow Yu Jianrong’s piece on China’s new “educated youth.”


David Bandurski

CMP Director

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