When bundles of joy become hostages in social control. Netizens contemplate the reproductive risk of “weak spot” children being leveraged against them by the state.

By Cindy Carter | Published by China Digital Times

Summary

The term “weak spot” (软肋, ruǎn lèi) has resurfaced in China’s public lexicon after a recent consumer backlash to sudden spikes in natural gas usage following the installation of “smart” gas meters in a number of cities. This has led to incidents of intimidation by authorities, including threats towards family members to silence dissent and enforce compliance.

Utilizing family members as “weak spots,” particularly children, is a tactic used by authorities to prevent individuals from speaking out, engaging in activism, or pursuing other activities that the state does not approve of.

The term gained popularity in November 2022 after a viral video revealed neighborhood committee members from Tiantongyuan, a vast suburb near Beijing, discussing how to intimidate local residents to enforce compliance during the COVID lockdown. Smiling as they discuss a certain local “troublemaker,” the committee members talk about “locking him up in a dark place for three days” as they brainstormed ways to cow the man by threatening retaliation against his son. One of them pointedly says, “His son is his weak spot.”

In July 2023, online reaction to a gymnasium collapse in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province culminated in grieving parents pressured by local officials to sign away their rights before viewing the bodies of their dead daughters. The video of the collapse was deleted from various platforms after triggering a wave of criticism, including discussion about the potential use of children by the Chinese Communist Party to exert leverage over their parents.

Said one netizen: “It turns out the reason [the government] wants people to have kids is to use them as leverage against their parents… and they expect us to keep giving birth to little hostages?”

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