Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. By the end of December last year, China’s population had decreased to 1.4118 billion , down by some 850,000 people from the previous year, China’s National Bureau of Statistics announced on January 17. It was the first drop in more than 60 years, “a truly historic turning point, an onset of a long-term and irreversible population decline”, according to Feng Wang, a scholar of Chinese demographic change at the University of California, Irvine. Though the Chinese government replaced the one-child policy in 2016 with a two-child limit, and further relaxed it to allow a family to have three children in 2021, the national birth rate has continued to fall. China’s annual net population growth declined from 9.06 million in 2016 to 480,000 in 2021. This trend will present serious challenges to China’s social and economic vitality. It will lead to a rapidly ageing population and shrinking workforce that could undermine the country’s economic and social stability. As the birth rate continues to decline, the pool of wealth creators will inevitably shrink, while the elderly group in need of support, in the form of pensions and medical care, will expand. Furthermore, if the size of the young population severely diminishes, it will lead to the decline in the number of people willing to innovate and start businesses, because most entrepreneurs are young people, who tend to be creative and innovative. This would negatively affect the push for innovation in China’s economy, which relies on an enormous market. Such a development pattern is similar to that of Japan in the past decades. To reverse the trend of population decline, the Chinese government has initiated a series of measures, such as launching a three-children policy and promoting the development of the elderly care industry. Beyond that, the government can also implement more policies, such as tax incentives and financial support, to encourage young people to start businesses and innovate. The government should endeavour to improve the quality of education, promote the development of science and technology, and create an environment that nurtures innovation and entrepreneurship. Dr Yuehai Xiao, professor, and Jingyi He, student, department of English, Hunan Normal University, Changsha Rethink the ‘population fuels prosperity’ mindset I refer to “No reason to fret over China’s shrinking population with solutions already in the works” ( January 27 ). Please let’s not have more circular arguments about population fuelling prosperity. Slower population growth reduces congestion and allows strained resources to take a breather. I’d dispute the argument that China’s declining impetus to have children will jeopardise prosperity and societal well-being. The dilemma lies in matching the subsidised needs of a burgeoning number of retirees and the elderly who are living longer (the demand) with children raised to taxpaying independence (the supply). This co-dependency generates a cyclical demand-supply loop. Today’s children will grow old and in turn seek their due from generations raised to adult productivity that come after them. The cost of raising a child to independence, an increasingly deferred milestone, is not just met by the parents and families but also the rest of society. A baby bonus on top of generous paid parental leave risks a baby boom that our stressed environment can scarcely accommodate. Those of us who care enough about the planet to choose not to have children will be obliged to fund baby bonuses. Children are net consumers of public funding – subsidised education, parental leave, family support and concessions – until they start working and paying taxes. With 8 billion humans now, our species is at no risk of extinction. Joseph Ting, Brisbane Women should channel Coco Chanel on marriage I refer to the report , “‘Forced marriage is painful’: bride in China admits she doesn’t love groom in viral wedding breakdown and is marrying for her parents” (January 10). I am shocked that there are still people who believe women must rush to get married because of their age. Marriage should be motivated by the love between two people, not age or parental pressure. If a woman is satisfied with her single life, it is ridiculous for parents to force her to get married. Moreover, lots of successful women have chosen to remain unmarried. For instance, Coco Chanel, the legendary designer, who forever changed the world of fashion, also opted not to marry. “It’s probably not just by chance that I’m alone,” she has been quoted as saying. “It would be very hard for a man to live with me, unless he’s terribly strong. And if he’s stronger than I, I’m the one who can’t live with him.” Women can have a meaningful life without being tied to a man. Jasmine Wong, Kwai Chung Catholic Church must reflect on its own sins Pope Francis refers to homosexuality as a sin . He then presides over a sinful organisation, one that has ruined the lives of countless children as his church’s messengers of faith abused their privilege safe in the knowledge the Vatican would cover up their crimes. The duplicity of standards of this institution is no longer excusable, the only sin is theirs. Mark Peaker, The Peak