Illustration: Peter C. Espina/GT

In the last two years, a woman surnamed Sun has given over 2.06 million yuan ($336,000), to her acquaintance, a man surnamed Yao, as he persuaded her that he could help her son secure a bianzhi job (a fixed government position with a guaranteed post for life). Sun believed firmly in his connections, but Yao just spent all the money buying lottery tickets. The two are now in court to resolve the dispute. But the judge can do little to solve the overall problem of the quest for the "iron rice bowls" of government jobs, and people's strong belief that it's who you know, not what you know, that gets those positions. But while parents may think of security above all, young people should have the courage to take on challenges and change society.