COVID-19 killed the energy and creativity of the young in China

Li Hua often hears his parents’ repeated warnings: “You must get a civil service job,” or “Get a public institution job,” or “Get an iron rice bowl.” But he knows his parent’s obsession with government jobs started after COVID-19. Once a passionate teen full of longing for the future and courage to pursue dreams, Li has now abandoned his entrepreneurship plan and buried himself in exams, his personal enthusiasm doused by his parents’ expectations.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, a civil service exam boom swept China. During the pandemic, civil servants’ incomes were the least affected. Data shows China’s civil service exam applicants rose from 1.5 million in 2019 to over 2.5 million in 2023, with the acceptance rate dropping to less than 1.5%, showing young people’s desperate pursuit of stability.

This boom reflects a “one-way shrinkage” in career choices, undermining diverse vitality.  A healthy society needs people in labs, markets and villages. Yet over 30% of computer graduates in a coastal city quit tech fields to take the exam; many science talents gave up research for stability, wasting expertise and stifling social diversity.

I don’t deny civil servants’ value or young people’s desire for stability—its security is appealing. But a blind craze, ignoring personal strengths and wasting talents, turns the exam into meaningless internal friction, solidifying rigid values and killing young people’s creativity.