To prevent China’s falling birth rate, authorities will launch a new project to create a “new-era” marriage along with a childbearing culture to foster a good and friendly childbearing environment. The project will be launched in 20 cities.
According to the report from the Global Times on Monday, a regulatory body in the country that implements the government’s population and fertility measures, the Family Planning Association of China, is planning to launch a project that will encourage families to have children and encourage women to marry.
The main focus of the projects, according to the times, is having children at proper ages, encouraging marriages, sharing parental responsibilities, reducing the high “bride prices,” and other archaic practices.
According to the Times, the pilot cities included were Guangzhou and Handan in China’s Hebei province, which are manufacturing hubs. Last year, the project was launched in 20 other cities, including Beijing.
Demographer He Yafu said to the Times, “The society needs to guide young people more on the concept of marriage and childbirth.”
The projects are part of initiatives that Chinese provinces are launching to encourage people to have children, get tax incentives, get education for their third child free or subsidized, get housing subsidies, and more.
The one-child policy implemented by China from 1980 to 2015 was the root cause of the declining population and allowed India to take over and become the world’s most populous nation. After that, China raised the bar to three children.
This was the first time in six decades that China’s population dropped, and it raised concerns. Along with that rapid aging and other factors, the official proposed a plan where single and unmarried women can freeze their eggs for freezing and IVF treatment. They also have access to many other services that can help boost the nation’s fertility rate.
Because of reasons like gender discrimination in their career, the expense of the child, or putting their career on hold, many women put off having more children or having any at all.
- Published By Team Hongkong Journalist
