What do a Chinese commencement speaker at Harvard, an actress posting selfies and a trainee doctor at a Beijing hospital have in common?

       Not much — except that they’ve all found themselves at the heart of fierce online debates in China about privilege and inequality.

       The three disputes, which have dominated Chinese social media in recent weeks, all featured accusations that the main players had gotten ahead by dirty means, whether that was true or not.

       The Harvard graduate faced questions — unfair ones, some say — about how she had gotten into the elite American university; the actress, about how she could afford the flashy jewelry she wore in her selfies; and the doctor, about how she’d obtained her job at the hospital. All three were depicted as having had a leg up because of parents with connections.

       Advertisement

       SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

       There is no evidence that the Harvard graduate did anything wrong, while Chinese government investigations have found fault in the other two cases. But many commentators, in state-run media and elsewhere, have said that the outcries over all three may share a common root: a sense of resentment and anxiety that in China’s fiercely competitive society, merit may be irrelevant.

       Such concerns are longstanding, but they have grown more urgent as China’s economy slows and opportunities for upward mobility seem to be disappearing. The government, fearing social unrest, has vowed to address inequality. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has pledged to work for “common prosperity” and crack down on corruption.

       Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.