Tag Archives: 60后

“you’re only as old as you feel”: celebrating the middle-aged

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May 13, 2024 I attended a TEDish event that was jointly sponsored by Hougongfang (厚工坊) and Fenghuang Media Shenzhen (凤凰网深圳). If you drink baijiu, then you’ve probably heard of Hougongfang, a high-end brand of Moutai from Wuyeshen (五叶神), which is based in Guangdong, but brews in Maotai. if you follow Shen Kong media, then you’ve clicked a Fenghuang post or two. The company is primarily state-owned and based in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, offering Mandarin and Cantonese language programming. It is registered in the Cayman Islands. The event theme was “厚浪” which is a homophone for 后浪 (waves or next wave) and also neatly reminds us of Moutai’s (Maotai’s) historical significance, which was consolidated during the Chinese civil war and especially pronounced (chez Shenzhen) during the 1990s and naughties, when deals were sealed with toasts and no one went home sober.

For the past three years (this was the fourth event), Hougongfang has been promoting “middle age day (中年节).” The event was filmed before a live audience to be broadcast on May 25, which is the day they’ve designated for the new holiday. I know, you’re probably thinking: didn’t China establish May 25 as University Mental Health Day (525心理健康节)? And the answer is yes. And to answer your unasked question: yes it explains so much about contemporary China when today’s middle-aged magnates are promoting their contributions to society and the value of their experience on a day that had been set aside to address the mental health of the country’s anxious, overworked and often suicidal college students.

Thoughts (not all of them generous because remind you of US boomers much) below:

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changing expectations among shenzhen workers

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I just had conversation with a friend who is the CEO of a Shenzhen based fashion firm. She said that Shenzhen (and ultimately) Chinese manufacturers were facing two problems:

  • Low level manufacturing was being relocated to countries like Vietnam, where wages were lower, and;
  • Workers born in the 80s and 90s generation have higher quality of life expectations than do workers born in the 60s and 70s.

Her point, of course, was that the workers from the 60s and 70s not only built Shenzhen, but are also currently factory owners and the most active in society. Therefore they are not necessarily willing to offer workers from the 80s and 90s improved working conditions, including regular time off, air conditioned dormitories, and fewer roommates. She concluded that to be successful, Shenzhen producers needed to offer higher value, niche manufacturing that incorporated both industrial and social design into new business models.

This conversation chimes in on ongoing discussions I’m hearing about dormitories in Shenzhen. It is also reflected in Re/Code”s recently published article, “A Rare Glimpse Inside Foxconn’s Factory Gates” which shows the Taiwanese multi-national’s efforts to re-brand its Shenzhen campus, as a place where workers are well treated and therefore happy.