Prices in China are skyrocketing. Chinese officials said at a news conference that prices would remain “moderately high,” but grassroots people say Food prices are rising exponentially compared to two months ago, and the rate of increase is almost insane.
On Jan. 15, Chen Yulu, deputy governor of China’s central bank, told a State Council press conference that prices would likely remain moderately high this year.
However, ordinary people, in an interview with Radio Free Asia, spouted the bitterness of skyrocketing prices.
The price of meat at a supermarket in Beijing in the first half of this month. (Courtesy of netizens/reporter Qiao Long)
Mr. Gao, a resident of Wuhan, told the station on Wednesday (27th) that the current price hike is by no means “moderate”: “The State Council said that the moderate rise is too ‘moderate’, ‘moderate ‘ to the point that the people can not live. Today I happen to be in the vegetable market, the price of eggs rose 20%, green peppers sold for 8 yuan (a catty) that is in the cheap vegetable market, not the general market. At the end of December, the onion sold for 10 yuan a catty”.
Beijing rights activist Ni Yulan told the station that her husband only goes to the market to buy cheap vegetables every day before the stores close: “My old partner only goes to the market every night to buy low-priced vegetables, and also a lot of rice and noodles are going up in price. According to our kind of (poor) Family, it is difficult to afford to buy, because family conditions do not allow, just wait to starve.”
Vegetable prices doubled compared to November
The Chinese New Year is less than a month away, but residents are finding that prices of various food items are almost one day at a Time. Mr. He, a resident of Chongqing, told the station that local vegetable prices have doubled: “Now vegetables have doubled, the price of meat has gone up by 5 or 6 yuan per catty, and vegetables have doubled compared to the price in November. Now cabbage 3 yuan a catty, usually 1 yuan a catty. Cauliflower sells for 14, 15 yuan a catty.”
In Changchun, Jilin, local residents reported that the price of cabbage has increased to nearly 4 yuan a catty, peppers 10 yuan a catty, eggs 6 to 8 yuan a catty.
Video [Officials claim prices are “moderately rising”, do you believe it?
A netizen in Tianjin said in a video about rising prices in the city: “Hello everyone, recently the prices of eggs, pork and other commodities have gone up across the board, and the people can hardly afford to eat. Take Tianjin, onions 10 yuan a catty, peppers 10 yuan a catty, garlic moss 12 yuan a catty, even potatoes cabbage are more than two yuan three dollars a catty, not to mention the pork, beef and eggs, just pack a dumpling will have 30 to 50 yuan of meat filling, want to stew some meat and ribs, it will be 100 yuan to start.”
Food prices even Home appliances are up
The filmmaker said that not only food, even home appliances are also increasing in price: “Almost the people’s daily Life of the immediate need products are in the price increase ……”
Mr. Li, a house church pastor in Beijing, told reporters that prices used to go up on the eve of the Spring Festival, only this year is different: “But this year, coupled with the Epidemic, probably due to transportation and other reasons, prices have gone up significantly more than in previous years.”
Left: Early this month, Beijing supermarket meat price quotes. Middle: Meat prices at supermarkets in Tianjin in the middle of this month. Right: Netizens complain about the crazy rise in egg prices. (Courtesy of netizen/reporter Qiao Long)
Some netizens said that officials were trying to coin new terms to avoid social unrest, which is why they used such ludicrous language as “mildly rising”.
Double whammy of epidemic and high prices
Ms. Wang, a resident of Dalian, told the station that the Xin Guan (Chinese Communist Party virus) epidemic has caused a large number of people at the bottom to lose their jobs, and with prices soaring, it is hard to bear the double blow: “The key is that now there is an epidemic, you can’t earn money and you are isolated at home, you have to eat and live, and that is twice the price difference. Now is not earn money, but also spend money. So where does the money come from?”
Many netizens called on the authorities to “give a way to live!” They also said that the economic situation in the past two years is poor, prices are still rising, how can people live?
Recent Comments