In China’s tight economy, a fake exam-takers scheme has touched a nerve

SCMP · 2026-02-20
In China’s tight economy, a fake exam-takers scheme has touched a nerve

In the cutthroat world of Chinese civil service exams, the most dangerous opponent is not necessarily the person in the next seat: it is the “ghost” candidate designed to scare you away before you even show up. A bizarre case of inflating applicant numbers to deter potential candidates has become a