Letters | HK$20,000 bonus a baby step in meeting Hong Kong’s population challenge

Readers discuss the need for a wider rethink of population policy, and children’s well-being

Reading Time:2 minutes

A woman with a toddler goes to Tsan Yuk Hospital in Sai Ying Pun. Hong Kong’s plummeting birth rate should be addressed holistically, with a refreshed population strategy. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 11:30am, 27 Oct 2023

Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at [email protected] 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.

As Hong Kong grapples with its plummeting birth rate, the HK$20,000 bonus for couples with newborns raises questions about its effectiveness as a policy solution.

When I reflect on my own decision to pursue a PhD, I realise that while financial considerations played a part, they were just one aspect of a complex decision-making process. It is crucial to approach the birth-rate issue holistically and develop a comprehensive population strategy.

The imperative of fostering a sustainable workforce and confronting the challenges posed by population ageing is widely understood, even by millennials.

In China, policies aimed at stimulating birth rates have included cash incentives, tax benefits and housing credits.

However, China’s population still declined in 2022 for the first time in six decades. Similarly, birth rates in developed economies remain low, despite incentive programmes.

Still, although these policies may not be able to reverse declining birth rates, they could help slow the trend. In Hong Kong – which has the lowest fertility rate in the world, according to a United Nations Population Fund report – the HK$20,000 bonus may send a positive signal.

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Letters | HK$20,000 bonus a baby step in meeting Hong Kong’s population challenge

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Readers discuss the need for a wider rethink of population policy, and children’s well-being

Letters | HK$20,000 bonus a baby step in meeting Hong Kong’s population challenge

Readers discuss the need for a wider rethink of population policy, and children’s well-being