A Chinese odd-jobs platform has withdrawn a controversial Lunar New Year service that allowed users to hire someone to bow to elderly relatives on their behalf, drawing criticism over the commercialisation of filial piety.
Promotional material for the now-deleted service showed a delivery worker in an orange uniform kneeling and bowing deeply before a smiling elderly couple. The images triggered mixed reactions online, ranging from mockery to anger.
“Filial piety should not be commoditised,” one user wrote on Weibo, invoking the long-standing cultural value of respect and deference towards elders.
The app, UU Paotui, said in a statement on WeChat that it had “voluntarily removed the services that caused controversy” after careful consideration.
Service Marketed as Convenience for the Time-Poor
The 999 yuan (£145) two-hour package had allowed customers to hire gig workers to purchase and deliver gifts, perform “traditional etiquette”, and offer “one minute of auspicious blessings” to relatives.
While bowing is not widely practised in modern urban China, visiting family and offering New Year greetings remain central traditions during the Spring Festival.
UU Paotui said the service was intended to help people living far from home or those with mobility issues maintain festive customs. The company pledged triple compensation for customers who had already booked the package.
By Friday, the app still listed a New Year greeter service with immediate dispatch options, but the bowing-for-hire package had been removed.
In a Weibo post earlier this week, the company had promoted the service as a way to avoid awkward in-person interactions. “If you don’t want social anxiety during the New Year celebration, the experience has to be online,” it said.
Growing Debate Over China’s Proxy Economy
Proxy services are common in China, where relatively low labour costs and fast-paced urban lifestyles have fuelled demand for convenience. Through apps such as UU Paotui, users can hire workers to queue at restaurants, accompany them to hospital appointments, feed pets, or complete errands.
However, a commentary in the Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper described the bowing service as “very awkward” and called for closer scrutiny of the expanding proxy service industry.
“Real innovation should meet needs while also safeguarding values,” the commentary said, warning that certain proxy arrangements such as covering work shifts could pose legal risks.
Labour Pressures in the Spotlight
The controversy has also emerged amid growing attention to the working conditions of delivery drivers, who are often seen rushing through residential compounds and shopping centres to meet tight deadlines.
President Xi Jinping met delivery workers this week to extend New Year greetings and acknowledge their efforts.
“The city couldn’t function without workers like you,” he said.
(with inputs from Reuters)
