Netease News｜ Documentary: Working like this for thirty years

On January 8, NetEase News launched a documentary short film “Working Like This for 30 Years” focusing on the living conditions of China’s bottom-level workers.

The title of this short film is the same as an article published in July 2023 by the WeChat public account “Zhengmian Lianjie”, which quoted a sociological study by Associate Professor Qiu Fengxian of Anhui Normal University – after nearly 30 years of working in cities, the first generation of migrant workers in China, with illnesses, are unable to retire, and face many difficulties in their old age, becoming the “forgotten generation”.

The documentary short film “Working Like This for 30 Years” launched by NetEase News mainly focuses on the real struggles of a group of migrant workers in Hefei for a living: some start waiting for work at 4 a.m., some have extremely low living standards, some cannot afford the 380 yuan medical insurance, and some struggle to support the third generation…

On January 9, after the film attracted widespread attention from netizens, it was taken down from the entire network. Soon, the Weibo topic “#Working Like This for Thirty Years” was also banned.

Bilibili video removal prompt
NetEase original text deletion prompt
Weibo topic shielding prompt

In addition, some netizens reported that NetEase News’ Bilibili account was “unable to follow”, and the supplementary uploads of other Bilibili users were also cleared.

Bilibili account anomaly

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On December 29, 2022, NetEase News released a 2022 annual event review video: “It’s Better to Live in the Present Than to Fantasize About the Stars and the Sea.” The video recorded the various chaos and excessive epidemic prevention disasters during the lockdowns in Shanghai, Xi’an, etc., the chained mother of eight children in Fengxian, the Tangshan barbecue restaurant beating women incident, the crash of the Eastern Airlines MU5735 flight, the Urumqi fire, and some videos reflecting the difficulties of people’s livelihood… The video was quickly forwarded and followed by many netizens, but was soon censored and deleted.

The following is an excerpt from netizens’ comments by China Digital Times editors:

zjsh88: NetEase does one every year, which can be regarded as preserving the true historical facts under this iron curtain. It deserves the word great. Otherwise, many years later, it will be like the Great Leap Forward, the Great Famine, and the Cultural Revolution, leaving behind a wrong collective memory.

Wildwestmemory: Until the building collapses.

Good name to find the dog holding: I am in Hefei, I prove that what NetEase News said is true, we know who is the real good media!

Yini Ainuo: It’s hard to hold back when the backups are all taken down.

elias_neumann: What Chinese people need to solve now is the problem that the people are so rich but unwilling to spend money.

NandishP4: The unfinished emperor: Bold! There is only a prosperous and peaceful world under my rule, how can these things happen, it’s all because the organs are itchy!

Mckurag: When you try to find the truth in this land, you are already subverting the state power.

a_free_cat00: Just going out to film the real life of the bottom people is a Chinese banned film that deviates from the main theme.

OWhitelzp: Filming the bottom people makes them feel scared.

Luochuan has a spirit: The infinite distance and countless people are all related to me.

qiu8784: It has blackened the country.

Caitou will fly: NetEase News, which is often called “public intellectuals media” and “traitor media” by many Zhihu netizens, has repeatedly proved with practical actions how deeply they love this land.

Dongni Damu: I remember that NetEase News also released a video of the 22-year year-end major events review, which generally focused on the lives of ordinary people, and the final direction was still positive. As a result, the video was gone later, and the account was almost gone. Now they still dare to come, it’s really brave.

It never rains here: NetEase News’ “Working Like This for 30 Years” has been deleted. NetEase News’ Bilibili account is also in an abnormal state and cannot be followed. I can’t help but think of Hu Chenfeng and Ma Ni. Hu Chenfeng once released a video of “How much can a rural elderly person buy with a month’s pension.” As a result, Hu Chenfeng’s video was deleted, and the account was also blocked for a period of time. Ma Ni once released a video about the Liangliang Lijun couple. As a result, Ma Ni’s video was also deleted, and he was given a small winter vacation. I really didn’t expect that the real life of the Chinese people would also become a topic that cannot be touched.

Funny: It proves the saying that real life is a banned film. Let’s talk about the specific views on the film. I don’t think the hard work of migrant workers is the problem. The core problem is that such a huge group does not have corresponding systems to protect their right to work, and they are still the same as the short-term workers and long-term workers of the agricultural era.

Hand down: Some people say they are vulnerable groups, but in fact they are the ordinary majority.

Not suitable for discussion: The meaning of the media. But the hurricane passed, and the grass still exists. I hope the seniors protect themselves. I hope the people can live in a country where they can speak for themselves.

Just right ggh5310: The people at the bottom will not forget you, thank you for speaking out.