Reports from several Chinese provinces indicate that local authorities have begun to suspend merit pay for public servants in the name of cleaning up a provocative situation, according to posts on social media. Some regions were even required to cough up previous pay they had received during a certain timeframe. The rare move has ignited speculation about what caused the move. So far,  megacities like Shanghai and Chongqing, and other cities in Guangdong, Hubei, Anhui, Henan, Jiangxi, Shandong, and Sichuan provinces are involved. An insider told The Epoch Times that the pay returns haven’t reached Hubei province but it is under investigation. He revealed that heads of the provincial departments would have to return around $15,500 for each year specified. Traditionally, public servant positions are widely viewed as “iron bowls” in mainland China, which means a high stability job with substantial benefits, both open and hidden, due to their unique role …