A real capitalist still has to worry about walkouts, lawsuits, and people quitting. A party that owns the airline, the union, and the appraisal form does not.

On 28 September, China Eastern MU2347, Hefei to Dalian. A drinks cart brushed a sleeping passenger’s elbow. No cut, no swelling.

On landing, medical staff found nothing to treat and he walked off. In the aisle, the attendant had already knelt two or three times.

Witnesses said he swore at her and threatened to kick her. She stayed down.

Beijing Daily later noted the obvious: one passenger complaint is wired to the annual rating, the bonus, and the promotion clock. Kneeling was not in the manual. It was in the payslip.

That is the part foreigners miss when they call China cheap. The fare is low because the person in the aisle is priced as disposable, and the state that calls itself a workers’ government is the one doing the pricing.

In a normal firm, a manager who made staff kneel for an untouched elbow would be the scandal. Here the scandal was the passenger, and the system that made kneeling look like the safe move stayed in place.

Capital blushes. The party issues a statement.