Part 3/11:
While the CCP paints an optimistic picture of national revival, the lived reality for many Chinese citizens paints a different story—one of disillusionment and struggle. Public sentiment has shifted notably in recent years. A stark example is a 2023 job fair that drew tens of thousands of young job seekers, only to be confronted by the grim reality: fewer than 850 companies were hiring. The crowd’s eerily synchronized distress—some analogy likening the job seekers to the Terracotta Warriors, all lined up in a kind of modern-day "burial pit"—went viral on Chinese social media, symbolizing their feelings of being dehumanized and trapped in a system that offers little hope.