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ment of the National Health Com-
mission said the population of
people aged 60 and above would
exceed 400 million, accounting
for more than 30 per cent of the
total population around 2035. He
warned that China is facing a seri-
ous aging population problem.

Measures to boost the population
have been introduced in some
provinces in China.

In Sichuan, a province of 81 mil-
So uses her monthly income to buy luxury bags. lion people in southwest China, lo-
(Photo courtesy of Amanda So) cal authorities lifted all quota im-

children. posed on the number of children
“I think more and more married families can have in January 2023.
“My husband is a lawyer, and our couples will not have children in
annual income is about RMB ¥2.5 China. The government will pro- Wang Haha, a 37-year-old woman
million (US $367647). I can spend vide better healthcare and elderly from Jiangsu Province, also thinks
all my money on shopping, es- care services for people like us,” life is better without children.
pecially handbags. The price of she adds.
all my luxury bags ranges from “I want to focus on my work. I have
RMB ¥50000 (US $7309) to RMB According to the data released by no time to take care of a child. And
¥100000 (US $14618). I spend National Bureau of Statistics in to be honest, I don’t like children at
about RMB¥100000 (US $14706) a January 2023, China had 1.412 all. I don’t get along with children,
year on shopping,” she says. billion people at the end of 2022, and I hate some of my relatives’
850,000 fewer than at the start of children. They have bad manners,”
“We can also go traveling when- this year. It is the first population the employee of a state-owned en-
ever we want. We flew to Shanghai decline in China in six decades. terprise says.
every month and spent three days
at Disneyland in the past two years The number of newborns fell from Wang observes many friends are
even during the pandemic. If we 10.62 million in 2021 to 9.56 mil- busy taking care of their children.
have children, we cannot do this lion in 2022, as married couples
because we need to take care of like So are reluctant to give birth. “Some children have health prob-
children,” she adds. lems and my friends have to do
Though the Chinese government “
But her parents do not share her scrapped the one-child policy in
view. 2016 and introduced the three- I want to focus on
child policy in 2021, the popula- my work. I have no
“My parents think it is better to tion is still declining.
have children so that they can take time to take care of
care of us when we are old. I disa- Speaking in a press conference in
gree, but I don’t say anything to September 2022, Wang Haidong, a child.
avoid arguments,” So says. the director of the Aging Depart- ”