[国际新闻] 英国媒体：中国大学生成最廉价商品

日月光

英国《星期日电讯报》3月18日文章，原题：中国最好的“大白菜”进入就业市场
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　　他们本是天之骄子，但已进入最后一学年的北京大学的学生们却怎么也高兴不起来。今年将有2400万人进入早已拥挤不堪的就业市场。北大的学生们开始自嘲为“大白菜”。这个绰号的由来是因为中国时下最“廉价”的两种商品就是大白菜和大学毕业生。   H- V1 L7 ^& _) I9 Y
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　　现在，大白菜的价格已降到历史低点。同样，市场上也充斥着毕业生。去年，全国共有410万大学毕业生，其中约1/3没找到工作。今年夏天，将有创纪录的495万毕业生离开校园，而外界需求却又下降到新低。人在德国 社区1 n: S6 t. q' ^) u1 c$ |$ @# z
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　　在北京大学校园内，学生们之间弥漫着无可奈何的情绪。谢伟(音)身穿自己最好的西服，刚从面试中归来。他说：“我从去年11月开始找工作，参加过50多次面试，却没得到什么机会。”
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  f5 k  s5 p( j* m1 e3 m人在德国 社区　　20岁的谢来自湖北，国际经贸专业，想找份金融分析师的工作。他的许多朋友处于相同境地，“我们班1/4的人在找工作。而在老家武汉大学上学的朋友处境更困难。找不到工作，只好接着读研究生。”
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　　今年，约120万学生参加了研究生入学考试。还有些人参加公务员考试，另一些人去竞争那些不需要高等学历的工作。去年，700多名毕业生申请高速公路收费员的职位。 , d/ ]6 I0 Y$ b- b$ D" c: \

6 J3 F+ _; F9 Y6 |9 r# a: q6 J人在德国 社区　　中国接受高等教育的学生数量在过去几年内激增。1998年只有180万人考入大学，今年则有570万人被录取。除了每年5000至1万元不等的学费，学生们还面临毕业后找不到好工作的压力。
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0 |  r1 k6 A( k- F7 k* e$ f, _% x人在德国 社区　　谢伟表示，他并不担心求职失败，但这对他的父母而言完全不同，“他们很担心。但我告诉他们不要担心，我是中国最好的大学的学生。”
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They are China's brightest, but the students in their final year at Beijing University, China's equivalent of Oxbridge, aren't celebrating. Instead, with 24 million people expected to enter an already over-crowded job market this year, they have started referring to each other mockingly as "cabbages".
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& Y; c5 e, I4 D: \人在德国 社区Their nickname is inspired by the fact that two of the cheapest commodities in China at the moment are university graduates and cabbages.
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While the price of the vegetable, once the staple winter diet for people in China, has fallen to a historic low, the country also has a glut of graduates. Last year, 4.1 million of them graduated from universities across the country, but almost a third left without a job to go to. This summer, a record 4.95 million will leave their campuses - just as the demand for graduates has fallen to a new low.+ }9 ?  D1 T3 R0 Y
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China's authorities now fear that the millions of unemployed graduates could create a pool of well-educated opposition to a government already facing rising discontent in rural areas.
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" I8 M: c: l: l1 N"Some students are angry, but it's a small number compared with the majority of students," said Prof Mao Shoulong, a public policy expert close to the government who teaches at Renmin University. "But as the situation is publicised more by the media, more and more students might start to think that it's the government's responsibility to create more jobs," Their plight is part of a wider unemployment crisis. China's official jobless rate is just over 4 per cent but, according to the minister for labour and social security, Tian Chengping, this year China will create only half of the jobs it needs to satisfy the 24 million people entering the jobs market - a combination of surplus rural labourers, laid-off employees of former state-owned companies, new graduates and school-leavers looking for work. "Based on the current employment situation, the country faces huge job pressures," he said.. c9 Z, f$ c4 z  O  ]# ]4 v

5 M" g  C4 e' ?人在德国 社区On the sprawling campus of Beijing University, there is an air of resignation among the students who, in the days when the government allocated work, were once guaranteed the top jobs in China. In his best suit and tie, Xie Wei has just returned from his latest job interview. "I started looking in November. I've had about 50 interviews, but I haven't had any offers yet," he said.
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A 20-year-old from Wuhan, Hubei Province, Mr Xie is studying international finance and trade and wants a job as a financial analyst. Many of his friends are in a similar position. "About a quarter of my class are looking for jobs," Mr Xie said. "But it's even harder for my friends who stayed at home and went to Wuhan University. They can't find jobs, so they want to go on to do post-graduate degrees."/ m2 q( i' o3 a# }. y
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More than 1.2 million students applied this year to take the examination that determines who can go on to post-graduate study, rather than face the job market. Others apply for the civil service. Last year, 1.1 million graduates applied for 12,700 government posts. Most though, end up competing for jobs that do not require a degree. Last summer, more than 700 graduates applied for 147 jobs as highway toll collectors. At one point, 286 graduates were vying for 13 positions as public sanitation workers in Guangzhou.
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  V5 T8 [* s8 xA government drive has seen the number of students in higher education rise dramatically over the past eight years, despite a birth rate that is stable at 13.25 births per 1,000 people. In 1998, 1.8 million students entered higher education. This year, 5.7 million will be enrolled./ M2 X* @4 ~4 Z* ?, s2 p; k

2 K1 L4 V& n4 ~/ \& @1 ~人在德国 社区But with fees ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 yuan (£330-£660) a year, students are under intense pressure to find well-paid jobs after graduation. Annual income for urban residents averages just 12,000 yuan (£800).. E8 Z5 J, B4 n' y' _4 ?+ ], V4 I
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Mr Xie claims he is not yet concerned about his failure to find a job. It's a different story though, for his parents. "They worry, but I tell them not to. I'm at the best university in China," he said.