2nd half of Wall St. Journal article, By Liyan Qi, Jan. 16, 2023
China’s steep decline in births, especially compared with India’s, is likely to have big economic consequences.

India benefits from a younger workforce and younger population which helps it attract investment and build a stronger consumer market, said Manoj Kewalramani, chairman of the Indo-Pacific studies program at India’s Takshashila Institution think tank. �
�Not too many older people will be shopping for new cars, new gadgets, new homes,” he said. But he said having a large young population isn’t necessarily a blessing as providing education and job opportunities has been challenging.

As Beijing shifts from seeking to control Covid-19 to trying to revive growth, a shrinking population means softening demand for property, a pillar of economic growth for China, said Yi Fuxian, a scientist at the U. of Wisconsin-Madison. “The hyped
expectations for a strong recovery in the Chinese economy post zero-Covid might be too optimistic,” he said.

It has become increasingly hard for the Chinese govt to convince young people to have more kids to support a rapidly aging population. Already, one out of every five Chinese is 60 years or older.

Since China allowed couples to have 3 kids in 2021, local govts have tried anything from cash rewards and longer maternity leaves. To facilitate marriages, local officials have organized matchmaking events and sought to limit dowry payments.

In the latest move to encourage births, Shenzhen last week announced a plan to give local residents up to 10,000 yuan, equivalent to $1,484, as a lump-sum birth allowance and up to 3,000 yuan each year in child-rearing costs until the child is 3.

Such efforts haven’t seemed to yield much in terms of results. China’s marriage registrations, following a sharp decline in 2021, continued to drop over the first 9 months of last year, the latest official data showed.

Underlying factors, such as the dwindling number of women of childbearing age, coupled with impact from the Covid-19 control measures, accelerated the population decline.

In recent years, Beijing has put more emphasis on women’s role in educating children and caring for the elderly as birth and marriage rates drop. Meanwhile, more young women are rejecting traditional family values touted by the government and older
generations.

An art student in the western city of Xi’an said she is focusing on finishing her degree and promoting social justice, especially women’s-rights issues outside classrooms.

“No marriage, no kids for me as long as our society is still so unfair to women,” said the Xi’an native.

The student, who participated in nationwide protests in late November against Beijing’s zero-Covid policy, said she and her friends have found their voices after a series of high-profile incidents of violence against women in different parts of China,
including footage of a trafficked woman who had been chained in a shed, which sparked nationwide outrage early last year.

China has recently revised a women’s-rights law, which introduced safeguards against sexual harassment and workplace discrimination against women, but also introduced a list of moral standards for women to uphold, including “respecting social morals,
professional ethics and family values.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-population-declined-in-2022-for-first-time-in-decades-11673921036

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Wednesday, January 25, 2023 at 3:32:21 AM UTC+8, David P. wrote:

2nd half of Wall St. Journal article, By Liyan Qi, Jan. 16, 2023
China’s steep decline in births, especially compared with India’s, is likely to have big economic consequences.

India benefits from a younger workforce and younger population which helps it attract investment and build a stronger consumer market, said Manoj Kewalramani, chairman of the Indo-Pacific studies program at India’s Takshashila Institution think tank.

“Not too many older people will be shopping for new cars, new gadgets, new homes,” he said. But he said having a large young population isn’t necessarily a blessing as providing education and job opportunities has been challenging.

As Beijing shifts from seeking to control Covid-19 to trying to revive growth, a shrinking population means softening demand for property, a pillar of economic growth for China, said Yi Fuxian, a scientist at the U. of Wisconsin-Madison. “The hyped

expectations for a strong recovery in the Chinese economy post zero-Covid might be too optimistic,” he said.

It has become increasingly hard for the Chinese govt to convince young people to have more kids to support a rapidly aging population. Already, one out of every five Chinese is 60 years or older.

Since China allowed couples to have 3 kids in 2021, local govts have tried anything from cash rewards and longer maternity leaves. To facilitate marriages, local officials have organized matchmaking events and sought to limit dowry payments.

In the latest move to encourage births, Shenzhen last week announced a plan to give local residents up to 10,000 yuan, equivalent to $1,484, as a lump-sum birth allowance and up to 3,000 yuan each year in child-rearing costs until the child is 3.

Such efforts haven’t seemed to yield much in terms of results. China’s marriage registrations, following a sharp decline in 2021, continued to drop over the first 9 months of last year, the latest official data showed.

Underlying factors, such as the dwindling number of women of childbearing age, coupled with impact from the Covid-19 control measures, accelerated the population decline.

In recent years, Beijing has put more emphasis on women’s role in educating children and caring for the elderly as birth and marriage rates drop. Meanwhile, more young women are rejecting traditional family values touted by the government and older

generations.

An art student in the western city of Xi’an said she is focusing on finishing her degree and promoting social justice, especially women’s-rights issues outside classrooms.

“No marriage, no kids for me as long as our society is still so unfair to women,” said the Xi’an native.

The student, who participated in nationwide protests in late November against Beijing’s zero-Covid policy, said she and her friends have found their voices after a series of high-profile incidents of violence against women in different parts of China,

including footage of a trafficked woman who had been chained in a shed, which sparked nationwide outrage early last year.

China has recently revised a women’s-rights law, which introduced safeguards against sexual harassment and workplace discrimination against women, but also introduced a list of moral standards for women to uphold, including “respecting social

morals, professional ethics and family values.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-population-declined-in-2022-for-first-time-in-decades-11673921036

The population declines will not significantly impair the country's future population growth.

What is essential is the continual progress advancing of good income jobs made to keep pace with advancing medical and social supports to them in the population. When job availability is good and well supplied to the employ people, people will certainly
have more confident of marrying and have family, too.

When people have enough of work-balance environment, their family life experience will be further enhanced. Their children will emulate to get married and have home of their own. With advanced medical and social support, people will not have to worry too
much of burdens of financing themselves and even have to carry family's caring-costs by themselves eve to their old age.

When every burden is unburdened for people, and when everything is smoothened in place for the population, the people will then work hard and focus on their jobs to get married and raised children for their country to forward and to defend their country,
too.

Make no mistake, China has achieved a lot in housing, hospital, road and rail infrastructures more than any country in the world. It has further advanced its communication connectivity more than any country, too. More can bee done and will be done to
keep up and keep ahead of what their people want and need for the country, too.


--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Wednesday, January 25, 2023 at 3:32:21 AM UTC+8, David P. wrote:

2nd half of Wall St. Journal article, By Liyan Qi, Jan. 16, 2023
China’s steep decline in births, especially compared with India’s, is likely to have big economic consequences.

India benefits from a younger workforce and younger population which helps it attract investment and build a stronger consumer market, said Manoj Kewalramani, chairman of the Indo-Pacific studies program at India’s Takshashila Institution think tank.

“Not too many older people will be shopping for new cars, new gadgets, new homes,” he said. But he said having a large young population isn’t necessarily a blessing as providing education and job opportunities has been challenging.

As Beijing shifts from seeking to control Covid-19 to trying to revive growth, a shrinking population means softening demand for property, a pillar of economic growth for China, said Yi Fuxian, a scientist at the U. of Wisconsin-Madison. “The hyped

expectations for a strong recovery in the Chinese economy post zero-Covid might be too optimistic,” he said.

It has become increasingly hard for the Chinese govt to convince young people to have more kids to support a rapidly aging population. Already, one out of every five Chinese is 60 years or older.

Since China allowed couples to have 3 kids in 2021, local govts have tried anything from cash rewards and longer maternity leaves. To facilitate marriages, local officials have organized matchmaking events and sought to limit dowry payments.

In the latest move to encourage births, Shenzhen last week announced a plan to give local residents up to 10,000 yuan, equivalent to $1,484, as a lump-sum birth allowance and up to 3,000 yuan each year in child-rearing costs until the child is 3.

Such efforts haven’t seemed to yield much in terms of results. China’s marriage registrations, following a sharp decline in 2021, continued to drop over the first 9 months of last year, the latest official data showed.

Underlying factors, such as the dwindling number of women of childbearing age, coupled with impact from the Covid-19 control measures, accelerated the population decline.

In recent years, Beijing has put more emphasis on women’s role in educating children and caring for the elderly as birth and marriage rates drop. Meanwhile, more young women are rejecting traditional family values touted by the government and older

generations.

An art student in the western city of Xi’an said she is focusing on finishing her degree and promoting social justice, especially women’s-rights issues outside classrooms.

“No marriage, no kids for me as long as our society is still so unfair to women,” said the Xi’an native.

The student, who participated in nationwide protests in late November against Beijing’s zero-Covid policy, said she and her friends have found their voices after a series of high-profile incidents of violence against women in different parts of China,

including footage of a trafficked woman who had been chained in a shed, which sparked nationwide outrage early last year.

China has recently revised a women’s-rights law, which introduced safeguards against sexual harassment and workplace discrimination against women, but also introduced a list of moral standards for women to uphold, including “respecting social

morals, professional ethics and family values.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-population-declined-in-2022-for-first-time-in-decades-11673921036

The population declines will not significantly impair the country's future population growth.

What is essential is the continual progress in advancing of good income jobs made to keep pace with advancing costs in medical and social supports to them in the population. When job availability is good and well supplied to the employable people, people
will certainly have more confident of marrying and to have family, too.

When people have enough of work-balance environment, family life experience will be further enhanced. Their children will emulate to get married and have home of their own. With advanced medical and social support, people will not have to worry too much
of burdens of financing themselves and even have to carry family's caring-costs by themselves eve to their old age.

When every burden is unburdened for people, and when everything is smoothened in place for the population, the people will then work hard and focus on their jobs to get married and raised children for the country forward and to defend their country, too.

Make no mistake, China has achieved a lot in housing, school, hospital, road and rail infrastructures more than any country in the world. It has further advanced its communication connectivity more than any country, too. More can be done and will be done
to keep up and keep ahead of what their people want and need for the country, too.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)