According to the statistics from Dongda University
| Year | Month | Unemployment Rate of Non-Student Youth Aged 16-24 (%) | Unemployment Rate of Youth Aged 25-29 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | January | 16.1 | 6.9 |
| 2025 | February | 16.9 | 7.3 |
| 2025 | March | 16.5 | 7.2 |
The Ministry of Education of Dongda University predicts that in 2025, there will be 12.22 million college graduates entering the job market, making the employment situation increasingly challenging. Many graduates face the dilemma of "graduation equals unemployment." Some students have been advised by counselors to create "flexible employment" Douyin accounts to "fill in employment data," while they are actually unemployed. More people can only become full-time children, waiters, or temporary actors in Hengdian—it's not uncommon for a philosophy graduate to sell grilled sausages at a stall.
While many young people feel confused and anxious about the future, buzzwords like "youth is the time to strive" and "with a youthful heart, life is hot and passionate" flood mainstream media. Capital and power absorb the enthusiasm of youth into a profit-driven system through motivational propaganda, turning individuals into interchangeable production factors, while choosing to remain silent or even obscure the difficulties and disappointments faced by the youth.
The May Fourth Youth Day, originally a celebration of youth freedom, rebellion, and the spirit of change, has now been alienated into a tool for promoting sacrifice, suffering, and obedience under the joint shaping of power and capital. Under the infiltration of capitalist logic, the essence of the May Fourth spirit, which encourages ideological liberation, social participation, and self-expression, has been dissolved, replaced by hymns of "struggle" and "sacrifice." Youth are molded into qualified "chives" and "screws," becoming passive bearers in the chain of interests of power and capital.
As the May Fourth Youth Day drifts further from its original intention, we must ask, who does this day truly belong to? On May 4, 1919, in Beijing, the youth ignited the fire of change. Amidst national crises and ideological shackles, the new youth dared to act and resist. Their rebellion was for individual dignity and social change.
However, today, capital profoundly alters the social structure of China and the living conditions of youth. Flexible employment, platform economy, gig work, and the "996" work culture have become the daily reality for countless young people. They are squeezed into a survival gap of high rents, low wages, and uncertain futures, bearing the full pressure of capital extracting surplus value. The May Fourth spirit is repackaged by capitalist discourse. Media, businesses, and institutions of discourse sing in unison about "struggle" and "dedication," promoting "self-motivation" and "overtime is glorious"; yet the reality is that countless youth face "graduation equals unemployment," or return home to rely on their parents, quietly giving up their dreams.
Some universities even beautify employment data through "flexible employment," counting "self-media" or job-seeking intentions as employment, further obscuring the true situation of youth. Under the collusion of capital and power, the holiday for youth is continually shaped and consumed. Every year, Youth Day becomes a stage for role modeling, narratives of struggle, and the beautification of suffering. The real plight of youth, however, struggles to gain the attention and space for expression it deserves.
Many students are even caught up in competitions and internships before they graduate, learning to cater to power and capital early on, while the flames of freedom and rebellion in their hearts are gradually extinguished by the discipline and anxiety of reality. Youth Day is repeatedly interpreted as "the future of the nation" and "the hope of the people," but their true fate is in the hands of power structures and capital. Those middle-aged elites and vested interests who shout "dedication" and "sacrifice," while holding the power of discourse, turn Youth Day into a tool of discipline. Youth are trained to become obedient and cheap labor, their personal dignity eroded, and social creativity suppressed under high capital concentration.
How far is this May Fourth Youth Day from the original spirit of youth? Does it truly belong to the youth? Or has it merely become a performance space for the maintenance of the system and capital? A truly great Youth Day should encourage youth to remain true to their confusion, boldly question the unreasonable, refuse blind obedience, and pursue genuine fairness and freedom—only then can this day regain its meaning, rather than becoming a beautiful yet voiceless ritual of the adult world.
May Fourth is a starting point, not an endpoint. The alienated May Fourth Youth Day needs to be rethought and returned to the true youth. When more young people bravely ask again, "How should we live and work?" the spirit of May Fourth will truly awaken, and the holiday that belongs to youth will return.