According to a new survey, Chinese women are either delaying or refusing to have babies as a result of the Chinese Communist Party’s strict zero-COVID strategy (CCP). During the April-May lockdown, the CCP censored the hashtag ‘we are the last generation’ after it briefly went viral on Chinese social media. The survey shows that China’s uncompromising ‘zero-COVID’ policy caused profound damage to women’s desire to have children, highlighting how the pandemic and economic uncertainty have historically weighed on birth rates around the world.
According to the demographers who conducted the survey, they witnessed several accounts of people losing their jobs or not having access to healthcare or food. Furthermore, during the lockdown, authorities forcibly entered their homes to transport them to quarantine centres, and the sense of losing control over their lives had a significant impact on their parental goals. Authorities have repeatedly stated that zero-COVID is required to save lives, citing millions of deaths worldwide compared to only 5,226 officially reported in China since the start of the pandemic.
According to a July prediction by the United Nations, China’s 1.4 billion-person population could begin to decline as early as next year. According to a different UN report, the pandemic had a long-term impact on first births, with women citing financial insecurity and unsubstantiated concerns about COVID vaccines affecting foetuses. New births are expected to fall below 10 million this year, down from 10.6 million last year.
According to a July prediction made by the United Nations, China’s 1.4 billion-person population could begin to decline as early as next year. According to a different UN report, the pandemic had a long-term impact on first births, with women citing financial insecurity and unsubstantiated fears about COVID vaccines affecting foetuses. New births are expected to drop below 10 million this year, down from 10.6 million last year.
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