I am a native Chinese. One of my friends who serves as a civil servant (working in the government) complained that his (and others') performance salary (occupying only a part of the whole salary) in 2020 and 2021 were withdrawn by the government. This means he will have to pay back the money he already received in 2020 and 2021, which will be done by the government reducing part of his future salary in 2022. This conversation happened in late 2022.
The reason for this, according to the secret discussion among some, is that after two-year scrict Covid lockdown, the government is short in money. A simple reason.
I personally cannot imagine such thing happens in a lawful country in 2022. I expect striking and lawsuit against the government. But none happened. They just accepted it. Do you think this is understandable?