In a recent episode of a Chinese reality show Only You (非你莫属), where job seekers compete for jobs through live job interviews, Chinese TV viewers had a glimpse of Foxconn’s “military-style management” and what it could do to the employees through the first-person account of a mid-level manager working for the company. The 30-year old interviewee, named Zhang Fei, started working for Foxconn’s factory in Shenzhen as an entry-level employee after he finished technical high school, making 330 yuan ($52) a month. After twelve years working for the company, he is now an IT manager in charge of a team of fifty employees who are responsible for the entire network, communication facilities and security system for the factory.

Zhang Fei, an Foxconn employee, defends his company after his account of an incident of physical penalty that lead to his blacking out (click image for video in Chinese)

On the show, Zhang revealed that he once fell unconscious in the Foxconn compound. He told the audience what happened:

It was arranged that we were going to be “loaned” to another company that day. Usually, we were supposed to get up at six in the morning for a morning drill. This time, we didn’t know whether we were still supposed to participate in the drill, so we stood at the opening of the staircase, wondering what to do. Then the training officer saw us and pointed out that we didn’t participate in the drill as we were supposed to. [I thought] I had a good reason, so I tried to explain to him, but at this point, he said that [he must] penalize me and asked me to go running up and down the stairs. [I think] the military-style management doesn’t allow any excuse. Whatever the boss asks you to do, you must do it. … [I went] up the staircase on this side and came down on the other side. There were six floors all together. I ran for more than an hour, almost two hours, waiting for an order, that is, the order to stop, but it didn’t come. So I was thinking, as long as I didn’t have the order to stop, I must keep running. It turned out that the training officer might have carelessly forgotten about me. When finally somebody told me to stop, I suddenly passed out on the stairs. At that moment, I felt numb all over. It felt like that your face, your eyes, your brain, and every part of your entire body were numb.

What’s even more shocking is, Zhang did not see this treatment as abuse. Instead, he kept defending the company. Before he told his story, he already were saying that “it wasn’t the company’s fault… [but] maybe because I did something wrong.” When the host said after hearing his story, “I don’t think you were at fault,” Zhang responded, with a strong conviction:

This is the military-style management. From the team’s perspective, [if] you don’t perform as you are instructed to, if you don’t operated as you are instructed to, it surely is your fault. As an employee, you must [see this situation] from the team’s perspective rather than the individual’s perspective, because these are two different view points. When you stand on your ground as an individual, you will think that you’re always right, but when you look at it from the team’s perspective, you’ll realize that this may be your problem.

Zhang wants to leave Foxconn and become a career trainer, helping young people who have just joined the workforce become a competitive employee and plan their future. Here’s what he said to his “trainee” in a mock training session on the show:

Every new employee coming into a company must first form a spirit of teamwork that fits yourself. First of all, you must learn to listen [to your supervisor] and know how to behave properly. This is the most basic requirement. I’m not entitled to say “no” to the boss, so I can only obey. So obeying orders is the foremost requirement.

A “boss” on the show pointed out that Zhang’s management style and expectations from employees would work well in manufacturing industry. He said that with Zhang’s experience, he was in demand and would easily find a company that’d hire him. That’s true. The fact is, in reality, military-style management that controls almost every minute of a worker’s life so as to eliminate every trait of individuality has been adopted by many factories in China, not just Foxconn. This dehumanizing rigid control of workers, unfortunately, is where productivity comes from. It is what has brought astronomic profits to companies like Foxconn and put it ahead of other companies on the international market (read about Apple’s example in NYT).

The scariest thing about this dehumanizing culture of the manufacturing industry in China is that it doesn’t only exploits workers, it also changes them, like Zhang, who, working his way up from a lowest-ranking worker to a mid-level manager, has been completely molded into the system, with heart and soul. Having contributed to Foxconn’s big boss Terry Gou’s $5.5 billion, Zhang is now willing, actually, eager to promote Foxconn’s ideology that legitimizes dehumanizing exploitation and its huge human cost in pursuit for profits. Perhaps after all, that’s what capitalism requires in order to grow–the capital must not only control the workers’ bodies, but also their minds. And that’s what’s behind Foxconn’s, and Apples’, success.

“I found this company you work for is indeed very powerful. You worked there for twelve years, and now you’re brainwashed completely,” the host of the show said to Zhang, half-jokingly, after Zhang defended Foxconn. He was right, and that situation is unlikely to change any time soon.

But really? Are Chinese really that rich? Yes and no, depending on where you look. Yesterday, the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBSC) published a report titled “The 2011 Income Growth of Urban and Rural Residents” (Zh), which shows that, despite their high growth rates, average Chinese’s income levels are nowhere near what Americans would consider as “well off.” The report also shows huge income disparity between urban and rural residents.

The report is based on a survey of 66,000 urban and 74,000 rural households in all 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across China in 2011. According to the report, the average annual income for urban residents in 2011 is 23,979 yuan ($3,786), and the per capita annual disposable income for urban residents is 21,810 yuan ($3,444). After inflation adjustment, the growth in disposable income is 8.4% compared to that in 2010. (Just to give you some sense by comparison, the per capita money income of Americans in 2009 is $27,041, over seven times as much as that of Chinese urban residents. The poverty line for one person household in 48 Continuous States and the DC in the US in 2011 is $10,890 and $3,820 for each additional person.)

This is not the extravagant picture we see depicted in many media. If we look at the figures of the rural residents, we will see even starker contrast. According to the report, the per capita annual net income for Chinese rural residents in 2011 is 6,977 yuan ($1,102), with a growth of 11.4% compared to 2010 after inflation adjustment. That means that a rural Chinese makes only a third of what her/his urban counterpart makes and 4% of what an average American makes.

It needs to be noted that many “rural residents,” whose residential status is determined by their hukou, live and work in the cities as migrant workers. According to the latest statistics available, the number of rural residents working in cities almost reached 150 million in 2009. Officially as “rural residents,” these are industrial workers rather than farmers. These workers’ wages, 2,963 yuan ($468) per capita annually, contribute 42.5% to the total annual income for rural residents, according to the Income Growth report.

Among these migrant workers, about 100 million are a “new generation migrant workers” (新生代农民工), born between 1980 and 1995, as the statistics (Zh) from All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) show. They make an average of 1,747 yuan ($276) a month, about half of what employees who have the urban status. More than half of these young migrant workers are single, partly because of their low income and the increasingly expensive living in cities (follow-up post coming up soon).

So you get the picture. Chinese are not wealthy, especially rural Chinese and migrant workers, who, ironically, have created perhaps most of the wealth that’s been fueling China’s rise as a world economic power. And as the richest of the rich are busy planning on leaving the country with the wealth they’ve accumulated in China, these farmers and workers are the ones who will stay, and work, and live on this land of wonders and sacrifice.

Although the result might not be surprising to anybody who has worked in China, the numbers are nevertheless quite appalling. China’s current Labor Law (1994) does have very general stipulation that ensures the equal employment for Chinese. It’s written that:

Laborers shall have the right to be employed on an equal basis, choose occupations, obtain remuneration for their labor, take rest, have holidays and leaves, obtain protection of occupational safety and health, receive training in vocational skills, enjoy social insurance and welfare, and submit applications for settlement of labor disputes, and other rights relating to labor as stipulated by law. (Section 3, Chapter I)

However, there is no specific anti-discrimination law in China that protects vulnerable population such as women, people with disabilities, the LGBT people, ethnic minorities, people above certain ages, or people from certain regions. Sometimes, the employers even use information about job seekers’ personal life, such as they’re divorced or married twice, against them. Like in many cases of other Chinese laws, the Labor Law is loosely enforced and thus many violations can go without sanction. Already in a powerless position especially when the job market hasn’t been growing proportionally as the labor force, job seeker rarely take action to contest employers’ oftentimes outright discrimination.

In a perpetually male-dominant society, one is hardly surprised that gender discrimination tops the list. “Women can hold up half of the sky!” My generation of Chinese (born in the late 70s and early 80s) grew up with this slogan. The reality is, however, there’s still a long way ahead of us before women in China can have equal employment opportunities with men. Female college graduates, for instance, will more likely end up in jobs with less potential for career development than their male counter parts.

“I’m looking for a job this year,” a reader shared her story. “[I] study hydraulic engineering, in a Master’s program, female. [I’m] running into walls every day. Nobody hires girls, based on discrimination. [I’m] so helpless and can’t find a satisfactory job. It looks that I’ll have to wait until my graduation next year to find a job.”

“I hear you,” a reader replied to her. “It’s extremely tough for female students in engineering [to get a job].”

Engineering is indeed often considered a “male profession.” However, it’s by no means the only profession that doesn’t welcome female workers. Gender discrimination is almost a norm on the job market cross-the-board. “[They only] hire male employees and never hire females [in] accounting,” wrote another reader from her experience.

“Now no matter [you study] engineering or liberal arts, female graduates don’t have the same opportunities as male graduates do in job seeking… Gender discrimination is very serious…” another reader commented.

Serious it is. Gender discrimination is so prevalent in the hiring process that the employers don’t even need to hide it. “I got an interview,” wrote a reader, “and then they told me that they didn’t hire female graduates.”

And it can be worse, if a female employee or job seeker has another disadvantage such as health or age.

“No matter how well you perform at your job, once [you have] health problems, [you’re] ruthlessly kicked out. [It’s] very devastating, and [you have] no protection whatsoever. And female employees make a lot less than male employees who do the same job. The age limit for female employees is extremely strict, no higher than 35. Sometimes only 28 or even under 25,” wrote a reader.

The age discrimination is not just in private sector. Legally speaking, the government itself has violated the Labor Law by limiting the age of those who can register for the Public Service Examination to under 35. The age limit puts rural graduates, especially, in a very disadvantaged position. A reader observed that “about the issue that rural students [generally] start school late, and they graduate at an age older than others, so when it comes to job seeking, applying for graduate school or military academy, they’re not discriminated but flat-out rejected, because their ages exceed the limit. What are they going to do?”

Employers also don’t hire women because of the prospect of their marriage, pregnancy and child raring. In fact, the Labor Law’s Chapter VII provides legal protection for women and juvenile workers, including protection during and after pregnancy as well as the child raring period. However, because of the lack of protection for women at hiring and the poor enforcement of the law, these protections actually became the reasons for the employers to be reluctant to hire women, no matter how qualified they are for the job.

“[When a female college graduate chooses to] get a job, some companies don’t even open their doors to anybody other than those who have a Master’s degree. [When she] chooses to go to grad school, [the employers] will look at her marriage status, and see if [she] will apply for maternity leave etc.,” a reader lamented.

Indeed, it is extremely hard for Chinese women to balance career and family because they have to work a lot harder than men to get to where they want to be, if they’re lucky. That’s part of the reason why there are an increasing number of single career women, shengnu, who have delayed marriage and child raring, indefinitely.

As China’s economy slows down, the job market can only get tougher. For those who are in an disadvantaged position, getting a job is even more challenging, let alone getting equal pay. However, in a society where people are not equally valued for their ability, achievement and work ethics and where the vulnerable and the disadvantaged are not provided with a basic safety net, economic growth alone isn’t enough to bring about “prosperity” or “harmony.” Those in power in China may well understand this, but just like many other issues in China, addressing the issue of employment discrimination is easier said than done.

Since October 6, on popular Chinese social media sites like Weibo (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter) and kaixin001.com (a Chinese version of Facebook), a grainy smartphone photo has been widely shared. It shows chrysanthemum bouquets leaning against a glass wall, propping up black- and-white photos of Steve Jobs. In front of the flowers sit a dozen scattered apples, all missing a bite. The accompanying text reads, “Shanghai. Nanjing Road. Countless Apples. Mourning a Genius.”

The shrine was set up outside of an Apple store in Shanghai for the late former CEO of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs, and it is just one drop of Chinese Apple fans’ outpouring grief rarely seen in China. Within two weeks after his death, 93 million postings appeared on Jobs’s tribute page on Weibo, the most on any single subject in the most popular Chinese social media’s two-year history. “Your products changed the world and your thinking influenced a generation,” one posting reads, and countless awe-struck remarks like this are still circulating on the Internet weeks after Jobs’s death.

Without a doubt, China has caught Applemania. It is Apple’s second largest market behind the US and the fastest growing one. The members of its rising middle class are hunger for Apple products, and their appetite is huge. For the fiscal year ended September 24, Apple’s sales in China rose to $13 billion from $3 billion. As CEO Tim Cook said, “China—the sky’s the limit there.”

However, this appetite is not without a price, perhaps more so to Chinese workers who assemble Apple’s slick gadgets than anybody else. Since 2009, numerous reports such as “iSlave Behind the iPhone” by NGOs, activists and media have exposed the harsh working and living conditions for workers working for Apple’s suppliers in China. The most notorious among them is Foxconn, Apple’s largest contractor. In the first six months of 2010, thirteen Foxconn workers threw themselves out of the company’s tall buildings. The suicides happened so frequently that the company was nicknamed by Chinese netizens “suicide express.”

Foxconn is not the only Apple contractor that is extremely exploitive. According to a report by 36 environmental and activist groups, “The Other Side of Apple,” a number of Apple’s contractors have occupational safety issues, environmental protection issues and labor issues. One of the cases involved the use of a toxic chemical to clean the touch screens for Apple products that got many workers sick.

Apple, while making billions of dollars each year, has turned a blind eye to these issues. After the series suicides in Foxconn, Apple conducted an investigation under the public pressure. It concluded that there were “a number of areas of improvement,” and the ways in which Foxconn attempted to improve the situation were to put safety nets around its buildings, ask the worker to sign an agreement promising they will not commit suicide upon employment, and install care hotline for workers that does not work.

What’s sad is that the suicides and cases of abuses and health hazards all happened in Apple’s plants when Chinese Apple fans flock to the Apple stores for the newest iPhones and iPads. And while hipsters in Beijing sought after the $2000 iPhone 4GS on the gray market before its official release, the workers working for Apple’s suppliers may never be able to own any of the trendy gadgets they made. Making about $5 a day, a worker would have to spend about four months of her wages to buy an iPhone.

There is a stark difference between two worlds. While media and consumers hail Jobs for his “innovation” and “vision” in one world, they conveniently turn away from the real lives—not the abstract branding concepts—in another world, lives that have actually created Apple’s wealth.

But Applemania is not new. It is the quintessence of the old consumerism, now more than ever spreading across the globe. It is easier for us to hate Wal-Mart than Apple, because we adore iPhones and iPads and despise the “shoddy goods” that are “made in China,” although they are made in factories perhaps just miles away from each other. This fetish for Apple gadgets, here in the US and in China, is at the root of our double standards for corporate responsibility.

“Although every suicide is tragic, Foxconn’s rate is well below the China average (which is false). We are all over this,” Jobs wrote in an email in response to a Chinese Apple device user’s demand “Apple can do better!” This is hardly the same demigod worshiped by Apple fans in China, or anywhere. Or is it?