Commentary To some readers, I’m sure, the title of the article appears to be intentionally provocative, little more than clickbait. However, when an individual becomes the possession of another, they become a slave. When one thinks of slavery in China, one inevitably thinks of Xinjiang, where literal prisoners have been tortured and raped for years. What about the Chinese citizens who appear to be free—the civil servants, students, teachers, social media influencers, etc.—all across the land. Ostensibly, these people live in freedom. As we all know, though, appearances can be deceptive. Take the “996” work culture: working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week, for example. In China, the average worker is consumed by work. Exhausted and disillusioned by the constant barrage of WeChat messages and never-ending deadlines, life in China is, by and large, a thoroughly miserable existence for many ordinary citizens. The country’s GDP per capita might …