How a Chinese rocket scientist’s resignation started a nation talking about its poorly paid talents
Debate over state-owned firms’ retention of talent after scientist’s abrupt resignation and a claim that he has taken a job in the private sector earning 10 times his old salary
A legal document describing how an obscure rocket scientist left his job at a Chinese aerospace company has gone viral, igniting a fierce debate over state-owned enterprises struggling to retain their talent, as well as fears of China falling behind in the global space race.
Photos of the document were published on Thursday in a Weibo essay by blogger Zi Zhuzhang, titled “Why are talents that can directly influence China’s moon landing left to languish at the bottom of state-owned enterprises?”
It prompted debate on social media, including open criticism of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) – which is rare in China – on the same day that President Xi Jinping vowed to continue to strengthen SOEs and said attempts to “diminish SOEs are wrong and one-sided”.
Written by Xian Aerospace Propulsion Research Institute and dated September 17, the document states that Zhang Xiaoping had left his job as deputy director of rocket design at the institute, a state-owned enterprise, where he was responsible for developing rocket propellers that could potentially be used to launch Chinese spacecraft onto the moon.
The document describes how Zhang was “most crucial to the development process”, had “irreplaceable” talents and argued that his departure could affect China’s race to send people to the moon.