China’s state media adopts “kill line” metaphor to depict U.S. poverty

Chinese commentators and state-linked media have adopted the video‑game phrase "kill line" to describe poverty in the United States, using it as a metaphor for an abrupt threshold beyond which people cannot recover, the outlet reported. The expression — drawn from gaming culture to mark the point where an opponent can be killed with a single shot — has been used across social media, commentary sites and state media to encompass homelessness, debt, addiction and economic insecurity.

In official uses, the "kill line" is portrayed as hovering over Americans while Chinese people supposedly do not face the same threat. The framing arrives amid slowing Chinese economic growth, higher youth unemployment and weakening expectations of stable jobs and rising property values, which the article says has left many households feeling more exposed.

An online essay by the legal blogger Li Yuchen argued the idea is convenient because it lets people condemn a distant system rather than confront domestic problems; that essay was removed by censors. The piece also notes that societal inequality exists in both countries and that causes of economic fragility are complex.

Key Topics

World, Chinese State Media, Chinese Communist Party, Kill Line, Li Yuchen, Economic Insecurity