China tech worker’s death reignites industry overtime debate

The incident follows a spate of sudden deaths of young tech employees in recent years, which have sparked debate over the industry’s notorious “996” culture of working 12 hours per day, six days a week – previously endorsed by entrepreneurs including Alibaba founder Jack Ma. — AP

BEIJING: The sudden death of a young employee at a Chinese internet giant has reignited a debate about the gruelling culture of overtime work in China's tech industry, with the firm describing his passing as a “wake-up call”.

China’s Internet lit up this week over the brain haemorrhage death of a 25-year-old content moderator who had worked throughout a week-long public holiday for short-video streaming site Bilibili.