Zhang Xiaoping jumped ship, and the leadership is pleading with the state to send someone to drag him back

Recently, an article titled "The talent whose departure can directly affect China's moon landing is only fit to stay at the bottom of a state-owned enterprise" went viral on WeChat Moments, taking aim at the talent mechanisms and inefficiency of research institutes and state-owned enterprises, and making the 11th Institute of the Sixth Academy of Aerospace a hot topic (described in the article as the 601st Institute of Aerospace, later debunked by insiders).

The institute's official document was dug up by the media. To put it simply: our researcher Zhang Xiaoping jumped ship. When his resignation was approved back then, no one thought he was anything special, but after he left we suddenly discovered that without him the entire project was paralyzed, so we're pleading with the state to send someone to drag him back to continue working on the project...

WHAT??? What's going on

Some people are going to ask, what kind of place is the 11th Institute of the Sixth Academy of Aerospace?

The Xi'an Aerospace Propulsion Institute belongs to the Sixth Academy of Aerospace, known internally as the "11th Institute of the Sixth Academy." It is the birthplace of China's liquid rocket propulsion industry, making China one of the few countries in the world to master advanced ultra-low-temperature high-performance propulsion technology. It can be called a high-tech model among state-owned enterprises, as different from those low-tech state-owned enterprises that rely solely on monopoly policies for protection as clouds are from mud.

Logically speaking, a state-owned enterprise that lives purely on technology like this should place special emphasis on preventing the loss of talent. So why did this happen?

First, let's let everyone admire the original official document exposed by the media.

Whether Zhang Xiaoping was just a low-level researcher or a full professor is not something we'll discuss here, and people within the bureau have already debunked it. But the funny thing is, when Zhang Xiaoping resigned he encountered no obstacles at all, and the leadership approved it directly. Presumably the supervisor in charge didn't understand the business at all and had no idea what Zhang Xiaoping meant to the project. A mere deputy chief designer is a dime a dozen in the institute. If you want to leave, just leave. This is a state-owned enterprise, and plenty of people can't even get in if they want to. Are we afraid there's no one to do the work?

After Zhang Xiaoping had been gone for a while, they gradually realized something was wrong. The official document states it clearly.In the second quarter of this year, when developing the 480-ton liquid oxygen kerosene engine, "deep-seated" technical problems emerged, and an engine technical expert was urgently needed to "pool wisdom" in order to advance the project, so a document was issued to the state requesting personnel, hoping Zhang Xiaoping would come back.The second quarter is April to June. A major problem emerged that required an expert, which stalled the project's progress, and that is how this September document requesting personnel came about.

And a situation like Zhang Xiaoping's is not an isolated case. According to researchers at the institute, "This also reflects the shortcomings of traditional research institutes: subordinates do the work, the leadership takes the credit, and without the subordinates who do the work, the leadership doesn't know what to do."

My god, I actually found myself an iron rice bowl

The characteristic of state-owned enterprises is that there is no elimination system. State-owned enterprises almost never fire any employee; even a top leader finds it very difficult to fire a grassroots employee. Unless there is a major accident of responsibility or an employee violates criminal law, a state-owned enterprise is equivalent to an iron rice bowl.

Moreover, as long as you become a leader, you are a leader for life. Even if your ability is insufficient and you just coast along waiting to die, you can only be transferred laterally to another department at the same rank. Some state-owned enterprises have even specially set up a certain department to accommodate these so-called "leaders," giving them benefits without requiring them to work. Such retirement homes are found in almost every state-owned enterprise. Not only that, in the selection of state-owned enterprise leadership, the first consideration is not business ability but whether one is politically reliable, and they are frequently transferred and promoted. So state-owned enterprise leaders don't necessarily understand the business, and it is very common for laymen to lead professionals.

For those of us who are not enough to be "talent that affects China's moon landing," what should we do?