A project manager at Tencent’s WeChat business group (WXG) shared a screenshot of his year-end bonus worth more than 3.17 million yuan in a Group chat last year, and was recently reprimanded and fired by Tencent. His name was added to the company’s permanent blacklist, and he will never be hired again. The incident was exposed around July 24 by a Weibo blogger, “Lanxi.” Tencent’s anti-fraud investigation department determined that the applicable provision was Article 3 of “Tencent’s High-Pressure Lines,” “Violations of information security and the leakage of confidential information,” which clearly states that leaking or inquiring about compensation information is a violation.
Tencent Employee Salary Screenshot: 820,990 Yuan in Cash and 2,355,910 Yuan in Stock Incremental Incentives
The leaked screenshot has a watermark from Tencent’s internal compensation system. The compensation breakdown is as follows:
Annual performance bonus: 153,000 yuan (cash)
Annual special bonus: 667,990 yuan (cash)
Cash total: 820,990 yuan
Stock incremental incentives: 2,355,910 yuan
Total: 3,176,900 yuan
Notably, most of the compensation is not the cash bonus, but the stock portion—close to 2.36 million yuan. The employee was able to receive such an amount because, in 2025, he achieved Tencent’s highest performance rating, “Outstanding,” twice.
Violation Determination Under Article 3 of Tencent’s “High-Pressure Lines”: Leaking Compensation Information Is Classified as an Information Security Violation
Tencent’s anti-fraud investigation department’s notice determined that during his employment, the employee sent the company’s sensitive information to people outside the company, causing the information to spread to external platforms and resulting in serious negative impacts both internally and externally. This falls under Article 3 of Tencent’s “High-Pressure Lines,” “Violations of information security and the leakage of confidential information.” Under that article, leaking or inquiring about compensation information is a violation. The disciplinary outcome was termination (dismissal), along with being permanently added to the blacklist and never being hired again.
Debate Over Compensation Confidentiality in the Group: A Ridiculous Predicament—Company Is Generous, But You’re Not Allowed to Talk About It
The incident sparked intense discussion on Weibo and the Chinese professional platform Maimai (脈脈). The core controversy is whether compensation confidentiality clauses are truly reasonable: can employees publicly discuss their own salaries? For employers, compensation confidentiality can reduce their bargaining leverage and prevent employees from comparing treatment with each other. For employees, however, it creates complete information asymmetry—making it difficult even to evaluate their own market value.
The most widely circulated English mockery summarizes the absurdity in one sentence: “Happy to share that the company is so generous, but then I lost my job”—Happy to share how generous the company is, and then I don’t have a job anymore.
FAQ
What is the specific reason Tencent employees were fired for, and which rule it is based on?
According to Tencent’s anti-fraud investigation department’s notice, the employee was determined to have sent the company’s sensitive information to people outside the company during his employment, causing the information to spread to external platforms. The applicable provision is Article 3 of Tencent’s “High-Pressure Lines,” “Violations of information security and the leakage of confidential information.” The article explicitly states that leaking or inquiring about compensation information is a violation. The discipline was dismissal, plus being permanently listed on the blacklist.
What is the total year-end bonus amount for this Tencent employee, and how is it structured?
The leaked screenshot shows that the total compensation is 3,176,900 yuan (about NT$15.13 million). The cash portion is 820,990 yuan (annual performance bonus of 153,000 yuan plus annual special bonus of 667,990 yuan), and the stock incremental incentives are 2,355,910 yuan. The stock portion accounts for more than 70%, which is where most of the money is. The employee received Tencent’s highest performance rating, “Outstanding,” twice in 2025.
What discussions did this incident trigger on China’s social media?
The incident sparked widespread debate over the compensation confidentiality system on Weibo and Maimai (脈脈). The focus is on the reasonableness of the compensation confidentiality clauses: supporters believe it can maintain company management order, while opponents believe it creates information asymmetry among employees, affecting their ability to negotiate pay appropriately. Among the various takes, the most widely circulated mockery summarizes the absurdity of the incident: “Happy to share how generous the company is, and then I don’t have a job anymore.”
