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Epoch Times
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Xi Calls on Young Chinese to ‘Serve' Rural Areas as Unemployment Crisis Persists Amid Tariff War
As China's ailing economy increasingly faces headwinds, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping has again called on young Chinese to look for work in the countryside. The CCP's official media reported on May 3, the eve of China's 'Youth Day,' that Xi sent a letter to a group of volunteer teachers at a remote boarding school in the Xinjiang region. Xi allegedly said that 'there have been more and more young people in recent years going to rural or border areas to serve.' He called on young people nationwide to 'go to where the motherland and the people need you most to shine and give your best.' Xi and Party authorities have repeatedly urged young Chinese to seek work in rural areas amid poor prospects for them in the general economy. In a letter to college students in 2023, Xi encouraged young people to go to the countryside, as the unemployment rate among Chinese urban youth aged 16 to 24 reached a historic high of 21.3 percent in June that year, with 11.58 million college graduates entering the job market. That same year, the Guangdong Provincial Communist Youth League Committee planned to organize 300,000 young people to move to the countryside over the following three years. The announcement evoked sensitive memories for many Chinese people. Related Stories 5/7/2025 5/5/2025 From 1968 to 1978, about 17 million Chinese college and high school students, known as the 'sent-down youth,' were forcibly sent to the countryside to be 're-educated by poor and lower-middle peasants.' Many of these students were the Red Guards, who were active at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. The Red Guards, comprising college and high school students, formed militant groups across the nation. Then-CCP leader Mao Zedong mobilized them to attack officials whom he deemed not revolutionary enough. Their mission also included eliminating all remnants of traditional Chinese culture and purging society of all supposedly bourgeois elements through violence from 1966 to 1968. In the process, they destroyed temples, artifacts, and historical buildings, and subjected officials, intellectuals, and others to beatings. After Mao regained full control of the regime from his political rivals within the CCP through the movement, the large number of Red Guards, having lost their usefulness, became a potential threat to the regime. That situation arose as schools had been closed during the Cultural Revolution, leaving them unemployed amid an economic recession and widespread poverty. Consequently, Mao forcefully relocated them to the countryside and remote areas. Young Red Guards brandish copies of Chairman Mao's 'Little Red Book' in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution in 1966. The Red Guards rampaged through Chinese towns, terrorizing people, particularly the elderly. Jean Vincent/AFP via Getty Images This year, the number of college graduates is anticipated to reach 12.22 million, setting a new record, while China's college graduates Orders Drop, Jobs at Risk As the United States has imposed hefty new tariffs on China, many Chinese export-oriented companies have seen a sharp drop in orders, leading to factories suspending production. Tens of millions of jobs could be lost in China if the tariffs are not soon reduced significantly, putting more pressure on an already bleak job market. With a record number of college students graduating this summer, analysts have said that Xi's push for young people to go to rural areas for work is for the communist regime's political stability and to cover up the persisting unemployment difficulties in cities. Sheng Xue, a Chinese Canadian writer and activist, told The Epoch Times on May 4 that the CCP sees a large number of unemployed young people in the cities as a potential threat to its regime. 'Xi Jinping's advocacy of young people going to the countryside for work is essentially using the methods of the Mao Zedong era to solve the current political and economic crisis,' she said. Sheng said that besides covering up the unemployment crisis in cities, the authorities are trying to maintain the regime's stability by pushing young people to the countryside to 'disperse, absorb, and isolate' them. She said a large number of unemployed young Chinese are deemed 'potential destabilizing factors' by the regime. Independent current affairs commentator Cai Shenkun told The Epoch Times on May 4 that China's exports are stalled across the board, domestic economic demand is weak, and college graduates can't find jobs, 'so the authorities can only take this approach to divert young people to the rural areas.' 'But this is a temporary solution,' he said. Cai said that if Xi had not gone against much of the world and had not followed Mao's path, China's economy would not have encountered such big problems. Protesters in Beijing hold up white pieces of paper to protest against censorship and China's strict zero-COVID measures, on Nov. 27, said that when China's economy deteriorates further, the pressure of basic survival increases, and oppression intensifies, it may prompt young Chinese to rise up against the regime. 'If the number of awakened citizens is large enough, it will lead to a new social movement,' Sheng said. But she pointed out that 'it also requires the grassroots people, the working people, the intellectual group, those with conscience within the CCP's system, as well as overseas forces and the international community, to form an alliance to end the CCP's tyranny.' Tang Bing and Luo Ya contributed to this report.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Convicted Serial Rapist May Have Dozens More Victims Across Multiple Countries, Police Fear
A man convicted of drugging and raping 10 women across multiple countries this year may have dozens of additional victims, police in London claim. Zhenhao Zou, a 28-year-old Chinese Ph.D student, was found guilty in London last month of drugging and raping 10 women both in the United Kingdom and China, according to the Metropolitian Police Service. Zou has lived in the UK since 2017 as a student at Queen's University Belfast and University College London. This week, the Met Police said in a statement that 23 additional women had come forward to make reports about Zou following his conviction, after police publicly pleaded with survivors to come forward. Authorities also say they have "evidence to suggest that there may be more than 50 other victim-survivors" who have not yet been "traced," per the statement. Police found through their investigation that Zou met women using social media platforms and dating apps such as WeChat, Little Red Book, or Bumble and would invite them to his home under the guise of studying or having a drink with him. Once inside his central London home, he would offer the women a drink which contained a substance that left his victims drifting in and out of consciousness. While the women were unconscious, Zou filmed himself as he raped and sexually assaulted them, according to a woman came forward to report Zou, police searched his home and found the substances as well as a number of hidden cameras, laptops and cell phones that investigators said 'uncovered the true scale of Zou's offending.' One of the victims who came forward to police, 'Rachel," told the BBC that she held off on reporting because she initially agreed to go back to his place for drinks, so she thought it was consensual. When at his apartment in Dongguan, China, Zou turned his back to Rachel and spiked her drink. Rachel told the BBC that she experienced a 'wave of dizziness' before Zou took her up to a bedroom, where she was unable to speak or move as he allegedly raped her. 'Zhenhao Zou is a dangerous and prolific sexual predator, who manipulated and drugged women in order to prey on them in the most cowardly way,' Kevin Southworth of the Met Police said in a statement. 'We are determined to support all victim-survivors and are now asking women who believe they may have concerns about Zou to please come forward,' Southworth added. Zou was found guilty of 28 offences in March – 11 counts of rape, three counts of voyeurism, 10 counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one count of false imprisonment and three counts of committing an offense with intent to commit a sexual offense. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. Read the original article on People
Boston Globe
02-04-2025
- Boston Globe
23 more women come forward with allegations against serial rapist, London police say
Zou was a doctoral student at University College London between 2019 and 2024. During his weekslong trial earlier this year in London, the court heard that he would lure women to his apartments in the city and in China, and rape them. Advertisement Zou met the women on dating apps like Bumble and on online platforms, including the Chinese social media apps WeChat and Little Red Book, according to police. He targeted Chinese students living in London, officers said, whom he may also have met at parties and student gatherings. On March 5, a jury found Zou guilty of 11 counts of rape, as well as of charges related to the possession of drugs intended for use in a sexual assault, voyeurism, and the possession of extreme pornography, prosecutors said. Two women testified against Zou in court, but eight others remain unidentified, police said. Because the women were drugged, police believe that some may not know what happened to them. With the conviction secured, police issued a public appeal for more victims to come forward. Advertisement After arresting Zou in January 2024, investigators uncovered hundreds of videos on his devices, which appeared to depict him raping and sexually assaulting multiple women. Officers also trawled through thousands of gigabytes of data that traced a pattern of Zou's crimes. Once the women were in his apartment, police said, he would offer them a drink laced with a substance that investigators believe was butanediol, a chemical that converts to GHB, a notorious date rape drug that depresses the central nervous system. When the women were unconscious, he raped and sexually assaulted them while filming himself, police said. The women's faces were often hidden or obscured, making it difficult for investigators to identify them. But police said Zou often kept souvenirs of his victims, and officers found items of jewelry and clothing in his apartment. Police believe that Zou, who is originally from Dongguan in China's Guangdong province, followed the same tactics when he was in China, with video evidence indicating that some of the attacks took place there during the COVID-19 pandemic. British police worked with their counterparts in China to find one of the women who testified against him. Since his conviction, two other women have come forward in China, according to the BBC World Service. One woman said he attacked her at one of his family's villas after they went on a date. Fearing reprisal in her small home city of Dongguan, she stayed quiet until she recognized her attacker in news reports following his conviction. The other woman, who is also Chinese, said Zou had attacked her while she was a student in London in 2021. Advertisement Before moving to London, Zou studied at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Police first started investigating Zou in 2023, after one of his victims, a Chinese national who was also studying in London, posted about her attack on social media to warn other women. She included references to his Guangdong accent and the fact that he wore a Rolex submariner watch. That's when another woman recognized Zou as the man who had assaulted her after a night out in 2021, the BBC reported. The two women encouraged each other to go to the police. 'Zhenhao Zou is a dangerous and prolific sexual predator, who manipulated and drugged women in order to prey on them in the most cowardly way,' Kevin Southworth, a commander in the Metropolitan Police, said in a statement. Police said that as part of their update Wednesday, they were also appealing again for any women who think they may have been attacked by Zou to come forward. 'Officers believe that there are still more victim-survivors to be traced,' the statement said. A judge will sentence Zou on June 19.
New York Times
02-04-2025
- New York Times
23 More Women Come Forward With Allegations Against Serial Rapist
More than 20 women have come forward with allegations against a Chinese student in London who was convicted last month of drugging and raping 10 women in Britain and China. The Metropolitan Police in London said that 23 women had contacted them with new reports about Zou Zhenhao, 28, after he was convicted in the city last month. Some of the women live in Britain, while others live in China and other parts of the world, the police said in a statement on Wednesday. The police have previously said they believe that Mr. Zou may have attacked more than 50 women, based on hundreds of videos stored on his devices. Mr. Zou was a Ph.D student at University College London between 2019 and 2024. During his weekslong trial earlier this year in London, the court heard that he would lure women to his apartments in the city and in China, and rape them. Mr. Zou met the women on dating apps like Bumble and on online platforms, including the Chinese social media apps WeChat and Little Red Book, according to the police. He targeted Chinese students living in London, officers said, whom he may also have met at parties and student gatherings. On March 5, a jury found Mr. Zou guilty of 11 counts of rape, as well as of charges related to the possession of drugs intended for use in a sexual assault, voyeurism, and the possession of extreme pornography, prosecutors said. Two women testified against Mr. Zou in court, but eight others remain unidentified, the police said. Because the women were drugged, the police believe that some may not know what happened to them. With the conviction secured, the police issued a public appeal for more victims to come forward. After arresting Mr. Zou in January 2024, police investigators uncovered hundreds of videos on his devices, which appeared to depict him raping and sexually assaulting multiple women. Officers also trawled through thousands of gigabytes of data that traced a pattern of Mr. Zou's crimes. Once the women were in his apartment, the police said, he would offer them a drink laced with a substance that investigators believe was butanediol, a chemical that converts to GHB, a notorious date rape drug that depresses the central nervous system. When the women were unconscious, he raped and sexually assaulted them, while filming himself, the police said. The women's faces were often hidden or obscured, making it difficult for investigators to identify them. But the police said that Mr. Zou often kept souvenirs of his victims, and officers found items of jewelry and clothing in his apartment. The police believe Mr. Zou followed the same tactics when he was living in China, with video evidence indicating that some of the attacks took place there. British police worked with their counterparts in China to find one of the women who testified against him. Before moving to London, Mr. Zou studied at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 'Zhenhao Zou is a dangerous and prolific sexual predator, who manipulated and drugged women in order to prey on them in the most cowardly way,' Kevin Southworth, a commander in the Metropolitan Police, said in a statement. The police said that as part of their update on Wednesday they were also appealing again for any women who think they may have been attacked by Mr. Zou to come forward. 'Officers believe that there are still more victim-survivors to be traced,' the statement said. A judge will sentence Mr. Zou on June 19.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Yahoo
Suspects sought in Queens robbery pattern targeting online sales: police
QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) — Police are looking for four suspects wanted in connection to three robberies that are part of a pattern in Queens. In all the incidents, the victims met men at random intersections after agreeing to buy and sell items on WeChat and Little Red Book Apps. More Local News Instead of E-Commerce Trade, police say the men attacked and robbed the victims. In one incident that happened at Kissena Boulevard and Barclay in Flushing, the men stole Chinese Yuan currency from the victim, a 34-year-old man who was looking to trade for US dollars. Police released the following photos of the suspects. Overall robberies are down year to date in the city by 25.6%. Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
