Shannon Brandao
Shannon's excerpt from the article: "Business Insider [excerpt]: Amid a declining #birthrate and an #aging population, #China's leader #XiJinping has urged action, highlighting the urgency to prevent a further decline in China's population.
He told the Communist Party-linked All-China #Women's Federation in October that women must help establish a 'new trend of family.'
Xi also said he wants the Chinese people to 'actively cultivate a new culture of marriage and childbearing and strengthen guidance on young people's view on marriage, childbirth and family.'
But Chinese women are pushing back. 'I can't afford to take care of anything else outside of my parents and work,' Molly Chen told The Wall Street Journal.
Despite efforts to promote 'family values,' party lectures, and cash incentives for having more children, many young women view marriage and child-rearing as impractical, citing economic concerns and limited personal freedom, the report said.
The shift in mindset is evident in the decline of registered marriages, falling from 13 million in 2013 to 6.8 million in 2022, it added.
Despite government crackdowns on women's rights activists, a national debate over the treatment of women has erupted. One woman speaking to The Journal said that it wasn't long ago that she was dodging fines for having too many children. Now she is being harrassed by text messages to have more.
In the face of Beijing's continued efforts to encourage childbirth, a growing number of women are choosing to remain single and childless, reflecting a complex landscape for China's demographic future."
#news