中國啟動 “新時代” 的結婚生育文化計劃

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

China launches projects to build 'new-era' marriage, childbearing culture

Mon, May 15, 2023 at 3:20 a.m. GMT+1

By Farah Master

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China will launch pilot projects in more than 20 cities to create a "new-era" marriage and childbearing culture to foster a friendly child bearing environment, the latest move by authorities to boost the country's falling birth rate.

China's Family Planning Association, a national body that implements the government's population and fertility measures, will launch the projects to encourage women to marry and have children, state backed Global Times reported on Monday.

Promoting marrying, having children at appropriate ages, encouraging parents to share child-rearing responsibilities, and curbing high "bride prices" and other outdated customs are the focus of the projects, the Times said.

Cities included in the pilot include the manufacturing hub Guangzhou and Handan in China's Hebei province. The association already launched projects in 20 cities including Beijing last year, the Times said.

"The society needs to guide young people more on the concept of marriage and childbirth," demographer He Yafu told the Times.

The projects come amid a flurry of measures Chinese provinces are rolling out to spur people to have children, including tax incentives, housing subsidies, and free or subsidised education for having a third child.

China implemented a rigid one-child policy from 1980 until 2015 - the root of many of its demographic challenges that have allowed India to become the world's most populous nation. The limit has since been raised to three children.

Concerned about China's first population drop in six decades and its rapid ageing, the government's political advisers proposed in March that single and unmarried women should have access to egg freezing and IVF treatment, among other services to boost the country's fertility rate.

Many women have been put off having more children or any at all due to the expense of child care and having to stop their careers, with gender discrimination still a key hurdle.

Translation

香港（路透社）- 中國將在 20 多個城市開展試點項目，打造“新時代” 結婚生育文化，營造友好的生育環境，這是當局為抬高中國不斷下降的出生率而採取的最新舉措。

據官方《環球時報》週一報導，中國計劃生育協會是一個執行政府人口和生育措施的國家機構，將啟動鼓勵婦女結婚生子的計劃。

環球時報稱，這些項目的重點是提倡適齡結婚、適齡生育、鼓勵父母分擔育兒責任、遏制高 “新娘禮金” 等陳舊習俗。

試點城市包括製造中心廣州和中國的河北省邯鄲。環球時報稱，該協會去年已在包括北京在內的 20 個城市開展了計劃。

人口學家 He Yafu 告訴環球時報稱: “社會需要更多引導年輕人的婚育觀念”。

這些項目是在中國各省推出一系列刺激人們生育的措施的背景下進行的，這些措施包括稅收優惠、住房補貼以及對生育第三個孩子的免費或補貼教育。

從 1980 年到 2015 年，中國實施了嚴格的獨生子女政策 - 這是許多由人口所引發挑戰的根源，使印度成為世界上人口最多的國家。 此後，中國的限制已提高到三個孩子。

出於對中國六十年來首次人口下降及其快速老齡化的擔憂，政府的政治顧問在 3 月份提議，單身和未婚女性應該獲得卵子冷凍和體外受精治療, 以及其他服務，以提高該國的生育率。

由於兒童保育費用和需要停止自身的事業，許多女性推遲生育更多孩子或根本不生育，性別歧視仍然是一個主要障礙。

              So, China will launch pilot projects to create a "new-era" marriage and childbearing culture to foster a friendly child bearing environment. Many women have been put off having more children due to the huge expense in caring for a child and having to stop their careers. I am wondering how important is population size is to a country like China, bearing in mind that the US population is only about one quarter of that amount.