China Newsbase
Fast, easy search of the China news that matters
The China News Database was last updated at 08:27AM on December 31, 2023.
Database searches currently perform best when a tag filter is used. We suggest trying out these tags: Xi Jinping, Russia, Taiwan, COVID-19, climate change, electric vehicles, gaming, IPOs, Belt and Road Initiative.
You may also filter by articles featured in our daily members-only Access newsletter, to get a curated overview of the top news and analysis about Chinese politics, business, and society. Select one option:
- All top news and analysis
- The China Project top news and analysis
- Top news and analysis from elsewhere — Stories in the “News briefing,” previously known as “Recommended links”
This product is in beta testing and development. If you would like to share feedback on the content or user experience, please email editors@thechinaproject.com.
20 articles matching the search query.
Chinese video-streaming company Leshi gives staff a short work week
A struggling but famous Chinese internet company with only 400 employees has taken the lead in introducing a 4.5 work week for employees. Is it just hype, or will others in the industry follow suit?
TikTok’s hard lesson in the drawbacks of ‘996 culture’
How did ByteDance, the face of China’s global tech ambitions, become a cautionary tale about “toxic” work culture?
Tech workers angered as Bilibili censors posts after employee’s death
Short video platform Bilibili is the target of online ire from China’s burned out tech workers and their sympathizers after the death of an employee who worked on content moderation died from brain hemorrhage. Bilbili’s response was to censor the discussion.
A young hero takes on Tencent — phrase of the week
A young man called out Tencent for abusive work practices and became a hero on Chinese social media. Watch out for him, cautioned one commenter, using an old Cantonese saying.
The China Project 2022 Red Paper
We all read the headlines, but what really happened in China in 2021? And what’s on deck for 2022? This is our annual guide to the China issues we all need to know about.
A star worker’s suicide at Tencent
Chinese tech company workers and internet users are less than satisfied with Tencent’s explanation of a young employee’s suicide.
Gree Electric cancels overtime, shortens work week
A story from the The China Project A.M. newsletter. Sign up for free here.
ByteDance cuts working hours of China office, implements new schedule of ‘10-7-5’
The company behind TikTok has announced new rules to stop overtime work, limiting office hours to 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. The Chinese internet is cheering, but also somewhat skeptical.
ByteDance shortens work hours and Kuaishou loses its CEO
A story from the The China Project A.M. newsletter. Sign up for free here.
A shared spreadsheet reveals working hours at China’s biggest internet companies
Chinese tech companies are notorious for their punishing work schedules that often mean 12 hours a day at the office, six days a week. Since 2019, there has been a growing clamor from tech staff to cut their work time, but it does not seem to have worked, judging from a new crowdsourced survey.
Too much work and not enough sex threatens China’s new population plans
The Chinese government wants young people to have more babies. But a scholar suggests they may be too busy working to have time and energy for procreative acts.
ByteDance finally reads the room and cancels six-day work weeks
ByteDance, the hard-charging Chinese tech giant that created TikTok, has ended an overtime policy after a month of dithering, and after one of its biggest rivals took concrete steps to end its corporate culture of overwork.
Kuaishou shows ByteDance that fighting overwork isn’t that hard
One of China’s biggest video apps, Kuaishou, once installed sensors in toilets to monitor how long employees took in the bathroom. Now the company has put an end to six day work weeks for tech staff, shortly after ByteDance — which owns China’s dominant short video platform — decided to continue the practice.
Tencent’s game studio tries to combat employee burnout by banning long working hours — but will others follow suit?
In a fresh attempt to address employee burnout and change China’s overwork culture, a video game developer owned by Chinese internet giant Tencent has introduced a set of policies designed to prevent employees from working excessive hours and encourage them to use vacation time.
Chinese celebrity apologizes for texting employees at all hours after social media backlash
A celebrity boss who overworks her employees has sparked another discussion on Chinese social media about the country’s severe lack of work life balance.
Eight-hour workday? In China, overworked employees are lobbying for it
China has a workday crisis: People are working too many hours, and without proper overtime compensation. Existing labor laws are toothless, and unionization isn’t allowed. What can the country do to ensure the well-being of its labor force?
Pinduoduo worker dies by suicide while on leave, ex-employee’s video on disturbing work culture goes viral
The intense backlash against Pinduoduo is a searing demonstration of growing public anger over the work culture in China’s tech sector.
‘Who isn’t trading life for money?’ asks Pinduoduo-affiliated account after overworked employee dies
China’s tech industry has again been forced to confront its work culture after the sudden death of a young employee at ecommerce company Pinduoduo, who collapsed last week while walking home at midnight after working long hours.
‘Hardworking bitches’ given cold shoulder by Microsoft employees in China office
Former employees of Chinese internet firms are engaged in a culture war with their colleagues at Microsoft China about work-life balance.
China’s young professionals prefer staying in, to the nightlife industry’s dismay
China’s young professionals prefer staying in, to the nightlife industry’s dismay
