Welcome to RealTime Mandarin—a multimedia resource to immerse you in the latest Chinese language trends, inspire you to practice and improve your Mandarin every week, and empower you to communicate with confidence.
Subscribe now to get the next issue straight to your inbox!
Tens of thousands of residents in Chongqing and Chengdu complained to the authorities over the last month about abnormally high gas bills since January this year.
Many residents also shared their exorbitant bills online.
The customer backlash came after gas metres were upgraded to new “smart” devices.
Some people have reported that "the new metre runs faster than a jet", saying they'd never had a gas bill over 100 yuan before the metre was replaced, as they’re a small household. Now, it's nearly 200 yuan every month.
有人反映“新表比飞机都‘跑得快’，家里没什么人，换表之前从来没有上过100元，现在每个月几乎都得200元”。[3]
The controversy forced the local authorities in Chongqing into action. On April 13 the formation of a joint investigation group was announced.
A week later, in a press conference held by the government on April 19, it was confirmed that the Chongqing Gas Group Corporation (重庆燃气), and other local gas providers, had overcharged some residents.
The investigation found Chongqing Gas to have chaotic gas billing cycles ranging from seven days to 13 months, poor organisation in upgrading to new gas metres, and bad internal supervision and management.
One of our favourite phrases from 2022 was used to describe how Chongqing Gas has ripped its customers off:
For a long time, gas companies have quietly been overcharging customers during routine metre readings and billing. It's similar to what's known as the "ice-cream assassin".
They are behaving like a "gas assassin", leaving people feeling annoyed but unable to oppose it with concrete evidence.
过去很长时间内，燃气公司在日常抄表、计费操作中，“不动声色”地乱收费，这种行为类似于“雪糕刺客”，可以称之为“燃气刺客”，让人觉得非常不爽，可又说不出反对的理由。[1]
Chongqing Gas was ordered to fully refund residents who were overcharged. The company’s General Manager, Chē Déchén 车德臣, was also sacked.
It is rare for a provincial government to admit residents are being overcharged by a major state-owned company.
But the Chongqing authorities had no choice:
With such a large number of complaints and such astonishing "consumption", if the gas company continued to insist there was no issue, not only will the company become a laughing stock, they will also seriously damage the local government's credibility.
In other words, it is precisely the gas company's "shameless rip-offs" that drew significant backlash from the public, and this "gas price assassin" has once again pushed the local authorities to a corner.
如此大量投诉，如此惊人的“消费”，燃气公司如果还坚持自己没问题，那不仅自己成了笑话，也将严重损害当地的政府公信力。
换句话说，正是燃气公司的“吃相”太难看，让相关问题酿成舆论风波，而这种“燃气刺客”现象，又把当地官方逼到了“墙角”。
One day later, the Chengdu authorities ordered the city’s main gas provider, Chengdu Gas, to refund their customers who had been overcharged.
Although the investigations have concluded, many affected residents in Chongqing and Chengdu say they have not yet received compensation. A similar customer backlash is still unfolding in Kunshan in Jiangsu, where there are also reports of local government intimidating residents who share their high gas bills on social media, according to China Digital Times.
How state-owned gas providers operate is unlikely to really change any time soon:
It’s unlikely that the doubts raised by this incident will be fully clarified.
Maybe the fact there will never be a full truth is the only truth we can find.
因这些燃气公司引发出来的种种疑惑，我觉得不会翻篇。没有真相的真相，或许就是事件的真相！[4]
So, that's what we are exploring this week!
Favourite Five
1. 刺客 cì kè
assassin
这种行为类似于“雪糕刺客”，可以称之为燃气刺客 - This behavior is similar to "ice cream assassin" and can be called gas assassin. [1]
Background: Ice-cream assassin was one of our favourite words of 2022, first coined in July 2022, when a premium ice cream brand was found to be selling ice creams at RMB 60, often sold in the same freezers as 5-yuan ones. The word "assassin" is now used generally in relation to any situation where the customer is being ripped off.
2. 骚操作 sāo cāo zuò
underhanded operation, shady practice
官方的通报直接揭露了燃气公司常年存在的各种“骚操作” - The official announcement directly exposes the various shady practices that have long existed in gas companies. [1]
Note: An internet slang phrase.
3. 动手脚 dòng shǒu jiǎo
tamper with
拍到燃气表跑得飞快的镜头，更是让人不由得不信燃气表被动了手脚 - The footage of the gas meter running rapidly makes it hard not to suspect that the device has been tampered with. [1]
4. 吃相太难看 chī xiàng tài nán kàn
unsightly behaviour, ugly appearance, shameless
正是燃气公司的“吃相”太难看，让相关问题酿成舆论风波 - It is precisely the gas company's "shameless rip-offs" that drew significant backlash from the public. [1]
More: Read more about this phrase in the Sinica Phrase of the Week tomorrow.
5. 吃不了兜着走 chī bù liǎo dōu zhe zǒu
in serious trouble
很多人的结果可能会是吃不了兜着走 - Many people might be in serious trouble. [4]
Note: A slang phrase linked to not being able to finish food in a restaurant and taking it away.
Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
6. 错抄 cuò chāo
incorrect metre reading, misreading
两地燃气企业均存在错抄、以估代抄、计费周期混乱以及计价不规范等问题 - Gas companies in the two cities have problems such as incorrect meter readings, using estimates for actual readings, chaotic billing cycles, and irregular pricing. [1]
7. 死结 sǐ jié
deadlock, impasse
也就是说，这个问题几乎是个死结，只要燃气公司咬死自己没问题，用户并没有多少博弈能力 - In other words, this problem is almost impossible to solve. As long as the gas company refuses to admit its malpractice, residents don't have much bargaining power. [1]
Related:
咬死 yǎo sǐ - insist stubbornly on, stick to
8. 没门 méi mén
no way, impossible
要撬开这个行业不可告人的秘密，没门 - There's no way to uncover the industry's dirty secrets. [1]
9. 懵逼 mēng bī
confused, baffled
四个月竟然交了1.5万元的燃气费，整个人都懵逼了 - I can’t believe that I paid 15,000 yuan for gas bills over four months. [2]
Note: A common internet slang phrase.
Three-character phrases
10. 乱收费 luàn shōu fèi
arbitrary charging, chaotic billing
重庆、成都两地的燃气乱收费疑云 - There are suspicions of arbitrary charging for gas in Chongqing and Chengdu. [1]
11. PUA
made to believe that it's one's own fault
有了官方通报，用户至少可以合理地质疑，而不会陷入自我PUA的困局 - With the official announcement, residents can at least question the practice of gas providers instead of thinking it's their own fault. [1]
Note: One of our favourite phrases of 2022, originally from American English, an acronym for "pick-up artist".
12. 冤枉钱 yuān wang qián
money spent in vain, unjustified expense
