CCP Strictly Guards Against Returning and Staying in Hometowns

Unemployment in China (Video screenshot)

[People News] There are still three months until the Chinese New Year, but a wave of migrant workers returning home has already emerged, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities have begun deploying special actions in response to the massive return-home tide. Experts point out that the reason the CCP is planning for the migrant workers’ return more than three months in advance is that it fears the accumulated dissatisfaction among migrant workers toward the ruling party may transform into larger-scale social unrest.

On November 13, the CCP’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs held the “National Rural Artisan Training and ‘Two Stabilize, One Prevent’ Work Conference on Poverty-Alleviated Populations’ Migrant Employment” in Yunnan. The so-called “Two Stabilize, One Prevent” refers to “stabilizing the employment scale of people lifted out of poverty, stabilizing their employment income, and preventing large-scale re-poverty caused by unemployment.” Under the banner of “returning-home circulation of poverty-alleviated populations to promote employment,” the conference demanded that grassroots governments work hard to prevent “large-scale returning and staying in hometowns.”

On November 21, prominent Weibo commentator and independent scholar Du Jianguo said that the new phrase “prevent the formation of large-scale returning and staying in hometowns,” proposed at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs meeting, is very likely a reflection of the worsening economic problems in China.

The main reason migrant workers return home is not merely to celebrate the New Year; the early appearance of the return-home wave is because they cannot find work in the cities. Many are angry about being unable to escape poverty, and when they have the chance to gather and chat on the journey home, they naturally complain about the authorities’ governance problems. This intensifies dissatisfaction with the CCP and makes group protest events more likely, shaking the CCP’s ruling foundation.

The CCP authorities currently fear group protest incidents more than anything else. Each such incident intensifies public resentment and anger, spreading anti-CCP and anti-tyranny sentiments even more widely among the people.

According to local media reports in mainland China, the situation of staying in hometowns after returning home for the 2026 New Year is expected to be even more severe. Although the data from Hengyang County concerns post-holiday return-to-work conditions, as a microcosm of pressures faced nationwide, it reflects the worsening employment environment for migrant workers.

Jiang Pinchao, president of the American financial and real-estate investment firm, told The Epoch Times that the direct cause of this “return-home tide” is the disappearance of jobs due to foreign capital withdrawal: “The entire economy is shrinking; people have no way to survive in the cities, so they return to the countryside.”

According to CCP official data, in 2024, 44.7% of China’s migrant workers were engaged in manufacturing and construction, while 54.6% worked in the tertiary sector—wholesale and retail, transportation, accommodation and food services, household services, etc. These industries have been most obviously impacted in recent years by foreign capital withdrawal and declining investment.

Wu Shaoping, head of the Overseas Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Association, believes the reason the CCP is planning for the migrant workers’ return more than three months in advance is its fear that the accumulated dissatisfaction among them could transform into larger-scale social unrest and that migrant workers may become a force resisting CCP rule.

He told The Epoch Times, “Many migrant workers have acquired skills while working in the cities and broadened their horizons. They know that their fate and their circumstances are connected to the CCP’s exploitative, corrupt system and its evil institutions. These farmers might rise up someday.” “These farmers, first, are extremely united; second, extremely brave.” “Once these migrant workers rise up, it could ignite a prairie fire and ultimately shake the CCP’s rule.”

Over the past week, discussions about the authorities’ prevention of large-scale returning and staying in hometowns have continued on social media in China and overseas, many of which criticize or question the authorities.

Mainland netizens expressed their views: “No one cares about left-behind children, but returning and staying in hometowns must be controlled!” “Lockdowns, closed shelters—are those coming back again?” “Falling leaves return to their roots! And you tell people not to go back? Incredible, absurd, ridiculous.”

Many overseas netizens also discussed: “What does this mean, that poor people don’t even have the right to return to their hometowns? What about those who cannot survive in the cities and urgently need to go home—should they wait months? Will the government pay for their food?” “Young people are not country bumpkins; they've seen the world. Maybe they’ll plot rural anti-government organizations back home! That’s why the government is anxious!” “Staying in the cities makes centralized control easier. If they return home and have nothing to do, what if they start a Chen Sheng and Wu Guang-style rural uprising to surround the cities?” “The Party fears another Zhang Xianzhong.” “Terrifying—controlling people’s lives this way! Are they trying to kill them?” “Reality: today’s Chinese would starve to death before revolting.” “Stop hesitating… Let 300 million migrant workers rise up and overthrow this evil regime that won’t let people live.” “Rise with bamboo poles! Mass assembly! Great unity alliance.” “The people must rely on themselves to fight against the regime’s injustice and immorality.”

Weibo influencer “Yu Paopao” wrote that in many rural areas, medical care and elder care depend on the income of young people working outside. In recent years, with the decline of the real-estate industry, many migrant workers have lost their jobs and returned home. They might manage for a year or two, but what will happen if the employment issue remains unresolved long-term? What happens if many idle young people in a village gather together every day?

He wrote: “It’s the end of November now. In about six months, another roughly 10 million college graduates will be entering the job market. I don’t know what to do.”

Current affairs commentator Li Dayu recently said on his channel “Dayu’s Astonishing Cases” that the uproar triggered by the Yu Menglong incident has already gone beyond entertainment, reflecting a comprehensive rupture in Chinese society. He cited “deep internal field interviews” shared by democracy activist Tang Baiqiao, noting that according to interviews across multiple Chinese provinces, dissatisfaction with the current regime has become mainstream. It is especially strong in first- and second-tier cities and among those under 30. Many recent graduates simply believe “we are the last generation” and choose to lie flat. After the pandemic, with the housing market halved, capital fleeing, small business owners exhausting their savings, and graduation nearly equivalent to unemployment, centrifugal forces within the system—especially in the military and arts world—are even stronger. With red-noble families fighting over spoils, and recent reports that the CCP profits from the organ-harvesting industry using Southeast Asia telecom-fraud groups as cover and extension, once the full scandal is exposed, it may be the last straw crushing its legitimacy.

Li Dayu explained that from the bizarreness of the Yu Menglong case to consecutive celebrity scandals, to high-level power struggles and widespread “lying flat” sentiments in society, it is clear that the Chinese public has become largely immune to state-media narratives. Many official news posts are filled with sarcasm and mockery. He emphasized that “abandoning the CCP is the trend of history—those who follow it will thrive, those who resist it will perish.” He predicted that anti-dictatorship sentiment will continue to accumulate; even if people cannot easily take to the streets in the short term, they will continue to contend with the authorities online and through every available crack. △