https://www.scmp.com/rss/509682/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Just one line in President Xi Jinping’s speech to the 20th party congress on Sunday was about population – saying that China has to “optimise its population strategy and develop a birth support system” – but it was the first unambiguous pro-birth message from the ruling Communist Party’s half-decade conference. After four decades of birth control – starting when the 12th party congress in 1982 enshrined “family planning” as “basic state policy” – China has finally woken up and realised that it... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/3196248/why-china-faces-long-struggle-arrest-its-population-decline?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/3196248/why-china-faces-long-struggle-arrest-its-population-decline?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Oct 2022 23:00:15 +0000 Only about one out of every eight mothers from Shanghai has had a second child, according to a new survey that illustrates how various factors are hindering the pregnancy rate in China’s wealthiest city. Even as China has been calling for years for couples to have more children, fewer than 13 per cent of mums with official urban residency in Shanghai, known as hukou, have had two kids, according to new fertility findings by Shanghai’s Health Commission, which set out to better understand how... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3193857/chinas-wealthiest-city-explores-why-only-1-out-8-mothers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3193857/chinas-wealthiest-city-explores-why-only-1-out-8-mothers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Sep 2022 23:00:15 +0000 China’s education ministry last week published its yearbook of statistics for the country’s school system, but omitted one small thing: the number of new entrants into kindergartens. The education data, which is available for the years 2015 to 2020, is used by researchers and economists as a reference for changes in China’s population. The omission in the latest yearbook, therefore, will make China’s real demographics look a bit murkier to outsiders. The number of new entrants to kindergartens... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/3193008/missing-kindergarten-data-sign-fallout-chinas-one-child-policy-has-only?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/3193008/missing-kindergarten-data-sign-fallout-chinas-one-child-policy-has-only?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Sep 2022 23:00:14 +0000 The world’s most populous country – at least for now – is expected to see a decline in its population next year, according to a leading Chinese demographic economist who is calling on Beijing to support urbanisation as a means to boost China’s labour supply and increase the consumption pool. Cai Fang, with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the country’s fertility rate is already “infinitely close to zero” and poised to enter negative growth next year. The demographic challenge,... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3191840/china-population-urbanisation-offers-huge-source-untapped?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3191840/china-population-urbanisation-offers-huge-source-untapped?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Sep 2022 23:00:11 +0000 Citizens aged 60 or over account for more than a fifth of residents in 13 of China’s 31 provincial-level jurisdictions, highlighting growing strain on the country’s struggling pension fund, but possible opportunities for the silver economy. The alarming figure was recently laid bare in a report by Chinese media company Yicai, and is likely to fuel concern among demographers and the government about the challenges arising from China’s rapidly ageing population. In Liaoning, 25.7 per cent or 10.94... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3191640/china-population-pension-burden-spotlight-more-third?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3191640/china-population-pension-burden-spotlight-more-third?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Sep 2022 07:30:21 +0000 The multipronged strategy China needs to reverse a declining population is laid out in a State Council policy document. Issued by 17 ministries, it contains approaches widely acknowledged by demographers as being necessary to encourage couples to marry and have children. On paper, it would seem to have the right ingredients for success. But formulating a plan is only the beginning; ensuring it is properly enacted and supported by local governments, employers and society is essential. Beijing’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3189813/population-push-beijing-calls-shift-attitudes-society?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3189813/population-push-beijing-calls-shift-attitudes-society?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Aug 2022 18:24:14 +0000 Longwan district in Wenzhou, an important trading city, has announced plans to give families a childcare allowance to encourage more births. Families with two children will receive 500 yuan (US$74) per month for each one under three years old, while couples who have three kids will be given 1,000 yuan per child. The proposed policy, which was announced on Monday, is the latest attempt by Chinese authorities to boost births and roll back a looming demographic crisis that is being compounded by a... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3188706/china-population-district-announces-childcare-allowance-help?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3188706/china-population-district-announces-childcare-allowance-help?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Aug 2022 23:00:13 +0000 The number of births in the eastern Chinese city of Wuhu has fallen to “an extremely low level” and the local population is at risk of natural decline, authorities have said, in the latest example of the demographic crisis facing the world’s No 2 economy. In 2020, the fertility rate in Wuhu was 1.11, meaning that a woman of childbearing age between 15-49 years old had on average one child in her lifetime, lower than the national rate of 1.3 in the same period. The data, which was published... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3184482/china-population-extremely-low-birth-rate-wuhu-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3184482/china-population-extremely-low-birth-rate-wuhu-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Jul 2022 20:30:11 +0000 Elon Musk, the billionaire co-founder of electric car maker Tesla, has warned of a looming “population collapse” in China, where his company seeks to expand after opening a major factory in Shanghai in 2019. Commenting on an article carried on the BBC Future website predicting that China’s population would further decline, Musk wrote on Twitter on Monday: “Most people still think China has a one-child policy. China had its lowest birth rate ever last year, despite having a three-child policy! At... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3180738/chinas-falling-birth-rate-prompts-elon-musk-warn-looming?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3180738/chinas-falling-birth-rate-prompts-elon-musk-warn-looming?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jun 2022 11:00:22 +0000 A rising number of unmarried people in China caused by the coronavirus lockdowns is set to reshape the country’s consumption patterns, according to a new report. The number of marriages in China hit a new low last year, with only 7.63 million registered, the lowest total since records began in 1986. Chinese mothers also gave birth to just 10.62 million babies last year, representing an 11.5 per cent drop from 12 million in 2020, adding to China’s declining population worries. People have... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3180333/chinas-coronavirus-induced-fall-marriages-sees-firms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3180333/chinas-coronavirus-induced-fall-marriages-sees-firms?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jun 2022 04:00:22 +0000 Jiangsu has become the first Chinese province to subsidise companies for paying insurance to female employees during their second and third period of maternity leave, a policy that could help counter discrimination against women in hiring. Last week, authorities announced that companies are eligible to be reimbursed for 50 or 80 per cent of the social insurance paid to women who have a second child or a third child, respectively. Companies can apply for six months of reimbursements from the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3178053/china-population-jiangsu-becomes-first-province-subsidise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3178053/china-population-jiangsu-becomes-first-province-subsidise?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 May 2022 08:00:26 +0000 Being overweight or mildly obese is linked to reduced mortality for Chinese people aged 80 and over, challenging the optimal body mass index (BMI) for the age group, according to a 20-year study. The findings, based on research on more than 27,000 older people in China, suggest the ideal weight for the elderly population may need to be revised upwards and more attention should be paid to preventing older people being underweight and losing weight, the researchers said. “The obesity paradox... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3175469/obesity-paradox-study-elderly-chinese-finds-higher-bmi-linked?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3175469/obesity-paradox-study-elderly-chinese-finds-higher-bmi-linked?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Apr 2022 15:00:23 +0000 After a public outcry, Shanghai this week eased its hardline policy on separating Covid-positive children from their parents at medical care facilities, allowing some families to remain together. But the damage from this policy – stemming from China’s embrace of zero Covid and ensuring that anyone who has tested positive must be kept apart at all costs from those who have tested negative – has been done. Let’s not forget the bigger picture here. After decades of a one-child policy, Beijing moved... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3173476/chinas-child-separation-covid-19-rules-are-damaging-bid-boost?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3173476/chinas-child-separation-covid-19-rules-are-damaging-bid-boost?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Apr 2022 00:30:30 +0000 China has “great potential” for a higher fertility rate if the standard of living and access to public services are improved, according to a leading demographer In an article in The Beijing News on Wednesday, Cai Fang, a demographic economist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also said there was an “urgent need” to improve basic public services and make them available to everyone to address the extremely low fertility rate. While the trend of lower fertility rates has been seen across... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3172436/china-can-boost-births-improving-living-standards-demographer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3172436/china-can-boost-births-improving-living-standards-demographer?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Mar 2022 04:00:23 +0000 China is facing renewed calls to lower its legal marriageable ages – the oldest in the world – after its number of marriages plunged to a new low last year. But some demographers are questioning the effectiveness of allowing people to tie the knot earlier in life, as a trend of delayed marriages is expected to continue while China becomes more urbanised and its young people shy away from the high costs of raising a family. The number of Chinese people in their first marriages fell nearly 50 per... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3172427/chinas-demographic-crisis-sparks-renewed-calls-lower?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3172427/chinas-demographic-crisis-sparks-renewed-calls-lower?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Mar 2022 10:30:56 +0000 China should lift all of its family-planning restrictions and step up pronatalist measures to boost the country’s precariously low birth rate, according to a number of representatives to the “two sessions” agenda-setting meetings that kick off on Friday. With thousands of China’s political elites converging on Beijing to attend the annual parliamentary gatherings, a number of representatives have revealed their proposals to the central government to address the nation’s worsening demographic... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169118/two-sessions-2022-calls-chinas-family-planning-restrictions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169118/two-sessions-2022-calls-chinas-family-planning-restrictions?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Mar 2022 20:30:18 +0000 China is set to improve access to medical care and increase services for the elderly in the next five years as part of a push to support the nation’s fast ageing population. The National Health and Medical Commission (NHMC) issued the 14th five-year plan on elderly care on Tuesday, which highlighted a dire need to improve health services for elderly in both rural and urban areas. The population aged 60 and above was 267.36 million last year, accounting for 18.9 per cent of the total, according... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168967/china-population-new-five-year-plan-vows-tackle-insufficient?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168967/china-population-new-five-year-plan-vows-tackle-insufficient?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Mar 2022 11:30:19 +0000 One of China’s key farming provinces is stepping up efforts to halt a decline in its population, which the local government says is hindering economic development. Pressure is growing on Heilongjiang in China’s northeastern rust belt as its population has plummeted by 16 per cent, or 6.46 million, from a decade ago, according to data from the 2020 census. At a meeting chaired by provincial party secretary Xu Qin, the province’s population problem was labelled “a strategic issue” hindering... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168090/china-population-rust-belt-province-heilongjiang-unveils-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168090/china-population-rust-belt-province-heilongjiang-unveils-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Feb 2022 11:00:16 +0000 Grappling with a population crisis and plunging birth rate, China is embracing a pronatalist policy that could see it lift highly restrictive and controversial policies on women donating and freezing their eggs. Public support has also been growing online in recent weeks, after the National Health Commission (NHC), China’s top health authority, said in December that it had “started revising rules and standards relevant to assisted reproductive technology, based on wide consultations with... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3166962/chinas-population-crisis-could-give-women-greater?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3166962/chinas-population-crisis-could-give-women-greater?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Feb 2022 16:00:13 +0000 Shackled by her neck and locked up all day in a squalid shack, video footage of a mentally-ill woman imprisoned by her husband has cast a shadow over the festive mood created by Beijing’s Winter Olympics. The woman, surnamed Yang, has become a source of concern and outrage in China after video emerged of her grim living conditions in a village in Feng county, Jiangsu province. For many Chinese, images of the mother of eight – dressed in ragged clothes and huddling for warmth in temperatures as... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3166717/chained-chinese-mother-puts-spotlight-countrys-staggering?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3166717/chained-chinese-mother-puts-spotlight-countrys-staggering?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Feb 2022 08:00:15 +0000 China has vowed to provide special care for elderly empty nesters, as concern grows over the nation’s fast-ageing population. “We can’t allow urban senior citizens to become isolated without their needs being met in the internet age, nor can we allow the elderly in rural areas to have to collect firewood to prepare a meal by themselves,” said Ou Xiaoli, head of the social development division with the National Development and Reform Commission. Speaking at a press conference this week, Ou said... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3166724/china-population-beijing-pledges-support-empty-nesters-ageing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3166724/china-population-beijing-pledges-support-empty-nesters-ageing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Feb 2022 12:45:20 +0000 What is China’s population? Mainland China’s population increased by less than half a million last year, while the number of births also dropped for the fifth consecutive year. China’s overall population increased by around 480,000 people – to 1.4126 billion in 2021, from 1.412 billion a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) confirmed. The population includes China’s 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, as well as servicemen, but excludes foreigners. It does not... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3165798/china-population-demographic-turning-point-just-around?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3165798/china-population-demographic-turning-point-just-around?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Feb 2022 12:30:08 +0000 Retirement is a complex issue in mainland China, given the size of its population, fast-changing demographics, gap in development between urban and rural areas and differing pension contribution rates from place to place. Life expectancy is rising, birth rates falling and the stress on the mandatory welfare fund mounting. There is consequently uncertainty for many Chinese about what to expect when they stop working. Authorities are well aware of the challenges and have plans for a way forward,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3165967/decisions-need-be-made-complex-issue-retirement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3165967/decisions-need-be-made-complex-issue-retirement?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Feb 2022 16:21:58 +0000 In the past couple of months, a 31-year-old migrant worker has gained notoriety in China for teaching himself English and immersing himself in philosophical studies while doing blue-collar work for more than a decade. When he was not toiling away in garment factories, warehouses and printing houses, Chen Zhi translated a version of American academic Richard Polt’s Heidegger: An Introduction – considered one of the most authoritative explorations of German philosopher Martin Heidegger’s work –... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3165371/chinas-migrant-workers-challenging-status-quo-chasing-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3165371/chinas-migrant-workers-challenging-status-quo-chasing-their?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Jan 2022 08:00:23 +0000 A county in central China has sparked controversy by offering a host of incentives to encourage “leftover” women to marry, including with unemployed men, local media have reported, amid rising concern about the country’s dwindling birth rate. Yihuang county in Jiangxi province is offering preferential treatment for housing and employment, as well as birth allowances, to women and their partners, according to a report from Shanghai-based media The Paper. “At present, the phenomenon of ‘older... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3165120/china-population-county-sparks-uproar-telling-leftover-women?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3165120/china-population-county-sparks-uproar-telling-leftover-women?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Jan 2022 14:15:19 +0000 China’s population level could fluctuate around the point of growth stagnation in the coming years before it starts to decline, analysts say in light of new data showing the mainland’s overall population increased by just 480,000 people in 2021. The official numbers, released on Monday, are fuelling concerns about China’s demographic crisis, including worries that its population size may have peaked last year or will do so in the near future. “In the next 10 to 20 years, China’s natural... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3163841/chinas-population-nears-normalised-phase-decline-experts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3163841/chinas-population-nears-normalised-phase-decline-experts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jan 2022 14:15:10 +0000 When China unveils its 2021 birth totals on Monday, the revelation will cast the spotlight on the impact of the three-child policy in its debut year – a year that featured widespread and high-level discussions over how the nation must address its worsening demographic crisis. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is also expected to release 2021’s year-end population, annual birth rate and breakdowns in terms of age, gender and residence, according to the official schedule and conventional... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3163465/china-population-2021-birth-data-offer-fresh-insight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3163465/china-population-2021-birth-data-offer-fresh-insight?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Jan 2022 10:30:15 +0000 One of China’s most high-profile economists says the central bank should print 2 trillion yuan (US$314 billion) to help boost low fertility rates – a controversial suggestion that has sparked widespread discussion. Ren Zeping, China Evergrande Group’s former chief economist, offered his solutions to China’s low birth rate and rapidly ageing population, in an article published on Monday. “The central bank [should] print an extra 2 trillion yuan to encourage society to have 50 million more kids in... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3162974/chinas-population-crisis-can-be-solved-only-printing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3162974/chinas-population-crisis-can-be-solved-only-printing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jan 2022 13:30:17 +0000 For members of Generation Z in China, winning at life does not necessarily involve getting married or having children, no matter how much their parents and the government want them to. It is more about “living for yourself”, according to Janet Song, 25, who works at a pet cafe in Guangzhou and said she does not think the presence of a husband or child could help her be successful. “My two elder female cousins and I are all only children in our respective families. They are both married but now... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3162221/why-are-chinas-gen-z-women-rejecting-marriage-kids-more-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3162221/why-are-chinas-gen-z-women-rejecting-marriage-kids-more-their?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jan 2022 03:30:21 +0000 With one of China’s most populous provinces saying its birth rate has plunged to a more than four-decade low, Beijing’s policy advisers are warning against the potential pitfalls of not doing enough to encourage couples to have a first child. Henan province, the country’s third-most-populous administrative region, with 99.36 million people, has reported that its number of newborns fell to 920,000 last year – a 23.3 per cent decline from 2019 – as the birth rate dropped to 9.24 births per 1,000... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3162272/china-population-forget-two-or-three-kids-getting-couples?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3162272/china-population-forget-two-or-three-kids-getting-couples?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jan 2022 16:00:23 +0000 A provincial court in eastern China said in an article on Sunday that people cannot file for divorce if they only cite “adultery” as a reason for the break-up, causing a public uproar. The court in Shandong argued that because most people in affairs do not live with their lovers, cheating fails to meet the “cohabitation” standard that is a part of Chinese divorce laws. “When a married person is caught cheating, their behaviour is not cohabitation as long as they do not live with the lover for a... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3162079/adultery-not-reason-file-divorce-chinese-courts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3162079/adultery-not-reason-file-divorce-chinese-courts?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jan 2022 01:00:25 +0000 A falling fertility rate compounded by an ageing population is a growing headache for China, impinging on nearly every aspect of the world’s second largest economy. China’s births fell by 18 per cent year on year in 2020 to just 12 million, down from 14.65 million in 2019 – marking a near six-decade low. Some regions saw births fall more than 10 per cent, while Chizhou city in Anhui province said the number of newborns in the first 10 months of the year plummeted by 21 per cent compared to a... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3161715/chinas-population-crisis-5-ways-beijing-trying-tackle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3161715/chinas-population-crisis-5-ways-beijing-trying-tackle?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Jan 2022 09:30:14 +0000 China is facing a daunting task to stabilise employment next year, as the world’s second largest economy continues to be tested by the coronavirus pandemic and a fast-ageing society. The country must also ensure enough jobs are created for young people and new graduates, while solving structural unemployment, said the Society of China Analysis and Forecast (2022), an annual report published last Friday by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). China’s job market is yet to recover to... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3161186/chinas-ageing-population-coronavirus-and-youth-unemployment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3161186/chinas-ageing-population-coronavirus-and-youth-unemployment?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Dec 2021 12:00:19 +0000 The rust-belt city of Hegang in China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province has been an unlikely hotspot of social and economic news this year, as analysts and the general public have expressed concerns that this area’s lack of economic vitality and meagre number of young people could be a dark omen for the country’s future. In the latest news from the industrial city of 890,000, the local government said it is entering a kind of fiscal emergency by freezing new hires and suspending public... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/3161148/town-chinas-rust-belt-offers-cautionary-tale-development-ambition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/3161148/town-chinas-rust-belt-offers-cautionary-tale-development-ambition?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Dec 2021 10:00:23 +0000 The northeastern province of Jilin, which has the second lowest fertility rate in China, will offer loans and tax breaks to parents as it tries to boost its declining population and fast ageing society. The provincial government announced on Thursday it would provide up to 200,000 yuan (US$31,400) to married couples that planned on having children, with the interest rate deduction depending on the number of children they have. Couples who have two to three children will also receive money, based... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3160987/chinas-population-crisis-plunging-births-jilin-province?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3160987/chinas-population-crisis-plunging-births-jilin-province?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Dec 2021 09:15:29 +0000 Members of China’s Communist Party (CCP) have a personal obligation to help tackle the country’s plunging fertility rate by having three children, according to a commentary that has since been scrubbed from the internet. “No party member should use any excuse, objective or personal, to not marry or have children, nor can they use any excuse to have only one or two children,” said the article published by China Reports Network, which was published last month but started gaining traction on... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3159079/china-population-article-demanding-communist-party-members?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3159079/china-population-article-demanding-communist-party-members?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Dec 2021 13:30:21 +0000 A dozen regional governments in China have lengthened maternity leave allowances in the past month to incentivise families to have more children amid concerns of an impending demographic crisis. However, many people questioned whether the policies would make any difference in China’s collapsing birth rate and pointed out that it could increase discrimination against women in the workforce. Some rule changes allow women to more than double their maternity leave, while others are making policies... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3157752/chinese-government-push-better-maternity-leave?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3157752/chinese-government-push-better-maternity-leave?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Nov 2021 11:00:32 +0000 China undercounted the number of children born in 2000 to 2010 by at least 11.6 million – equivalent to Belgium’s current population – partly because of its stringent one-child policy. The latest statistical yearbook released by the government puts the number of children born during that period at 172.5 million, well above the 160.9 million in that age group recorded in the 2010 census. The difference could be the result of some parents failing to register births to avoid punishment if they... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3157161/china-population-one-child-policy-blamed-12-million-children?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3157161/china-population-one-child-policy-blamed-12-million-children?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Nov 2021 03:10:39 +0000 The number of Chinese newborns dropped by 45 per cent in the last two months of 2020 compared to the final year of the notorious one-child policy five years earlier, according to a new research paper, as the coronavirus particularly dampened the willingness of women under 30 to give birth. Chinese mothers gave birth to just 12 million babies last year, down from 14.65 million in 2019, marking an 18 per cent decline year on year and continuing the descent to a near six-decade low, while the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3156977/china-population-dire-reality-crisis-underlined-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3156977/china-population-dire-reality-crisis-underlined-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Nov 2021 14:15:22 +0000 Consistent falls in the number of births in some regions in China of more than 10 per cent this year have prompted further concerns of a deepening population crisis, underlining suggestions that support measures to address the issue have been ineffective, with one city seeing number of newborns plummet by 21 per cent. Authorities at a local and national level responded to the concerning results of the 2020 census released earlier this year with a series of policy changes and invectives, but... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3156246/china-population-tumbling-regional-births-underline-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3156246/china-population-tumbling-regional-births-underline-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Nov 2021 03:15:22 +0000 China’s coronavirus vaccination programme is having a side effect: casting doubt on the nation’s recently completed once-a-decade census that put the population at 1.4 billion people. The task of conducting a census in a country as vast as China could only be undertaken by the National Bureau of Statistics, and the result announced by the bureau is official and final. Any suspicion about China’s real population size, therefore, can easily be dismissed by Beijing as groundless. But the top-down... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3155301/chinas-census-accuracy-faces-reality-check-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3155301/chinas-census-accuracy-faces-reality-check-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Nov 2021 10:29:45 +0000 A landlocked province in northwest China, in an effort to encourage couples to have children, is looking to sharply increase the duration of paid maternity leave to nearly one full year, putting it on par with some developed economies in Europe. Shaanxi is seeking public opinion on allowing an additional half a year of maternity leave on top of the current 168 days. That would put the province in the same league as European nations like Germany or Norway. Shaanxi is also considering doubling the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3154734/china-population-province-may-offer-year-maternity-leave-bid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3154734/china-population-province-may-offer-year-maternity-leave-bid?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Nov 2021 15:30:22 +0000 The veracity of China’s most recent national census is being called into question by the public after a township government in the northeastern province of Jilin slashed its population figure by nearly a third. An official notice released by Pingtai township officials on Tuesday has gone viral online after it revealed a 31.44 per cent reduction in the population of the township’s four local villages, to 1,195 people. In the national census results released in May, the permanent population of... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3153620/china-population-census-results-question-after-township?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3153620/china-population-census-results-question-after-township?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Oct 2021 11:30:09 +0000 Births are set to tumble nearly 20 per cent in the central Chinese province of Anhui this year, underlining the severity of the nation’s population crisis and prompting the local government to declare the number of newborns is “falling off a cliff”. Births will drop by 17.8 per cent to 530,000 this year compared to 2020, the fourth straight annual decline, following falls of 12.1 per cent, 11.4 per cent and 15.8 per cent in the preceding three years, data from the Anhui government shows. China’s... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3150590/china-population-plummeting-births-anhui-province-underscore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3150590/china-population-plummeting-births-anhui-province-underscore?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Sep 2021 10:30:15 +0000 The statesman who transformed Singapore into one of the world’s richest and cleanest places famously defended his form of governance by saying, “If Singapore is a nanny state, then I am proud to have fostered one.” Lee Kuan Yew’s sense of pride in the powerful city state, which can tell its people what to do and what not to do in their day-to-day lives, is being echoed in Beijing as the Chinese government takes that approach to new heights with its efforts to restrict how teenagers spend their... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3147742/chinas-nanny-state-push-shows-how-far-beijing-will-go-get?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3147742/chinas-nanny-state-push-shows-how-far-beijing-will-go-get?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Sep 2021 10:30:07 +0000 Some of China’s recent policies might be too tough, but the intention is to build a better and stronger economy. For instance, the call for “common prosperity” has caused confusion, even disorientation, outside China. It would be much easier to understand if it is described as a continuation of policies on alleviating poverty and narrowing the gap between poor and rich. The recent crackdown on the education market is another example of the lack of policy communication with the business sector... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3147321/how-chinas-census-offers-clues-its-next-policy-moves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3147321/how-chinas-census-offers-clues-its-next-policy-moves?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Sep 2021 20:30:12 +0000 Faced with new global demographic, inflation and deglobalisation challenges that even “Japan has never really faced”, China should take swift actions to counter their possible negative effects, a senior economist and author has urged. A lack of action by Beijing will see the risks “come back to surprise us in a big way” in terms of economic growth, inflation and interest rate increases, according to Manoj Pradhan, a former managing director of Morgan Stanley and the founder of the London-based... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3147252/china-facing-demographic-inflation-risks-japan-never-faced?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3147252/china-facing-demographic-inflation-risks-japan-never-faced?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Sep 2021 05:00:25 +0000 China’s dire demographic situation should help convince policymakers to further open up its capital account to allow citizens to invest more internationally, thereby helping boost the returns of the nation’s massive savings, according to a former director of international payments under China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). China’s foreign exchange reserves currently account for most of its foreign assets and are mainly invested in low-yield US Treasury securities. Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3145522/can-china-boost-foreign-asset-returns-ease-impact-economic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3145522/can-china-boost-foreign-asset-returns-ease-impact-economic?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Aug 2021 14:15:19 +0000 MADE IN JAPAN Five years ago, I had the good fortune to meet Aya, a lovely young lady working in Tokyo’s financial district. Aya’s career was accelerating fast, and in her late-20s, recently married, she was now looking to start a family. It was refreshing to hear her excitement, given all the negativity around Japan’s “lost generation”, and their lack of babies. And it seemed many of her friends were like-minded and wanted babies too! The proviso was that they found affordable childcare so they... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3144889/japans-message-china-baby-boom-isnt-going-happen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3144889/japans-message-china-baby-boom-isnt-going-happen?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Aug 2021 23:00:09 +0000 Whether politics has any place in international sports events has been a controversy for decades. Many politicians argue that in the interest of athletes and harmony between all nations, sports must be kept out of politics. Some even contend that sports has nothing to do with politics. These assertions seem very plausible but are unrealistic upon deeper scrutiny, especially when we turn to history. Adolf Hitler, the German dictator and fascist, wanted to use the 1936 Berlin Olympics to bolster... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3144430/olympic-history-shows-sports-and-politics-are-intertwined-athletes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3144430/olympic-history-shows-sports-and-politics-are-intertwined-athletes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Aug 2021 23:00:23 +0000