Where have all the babies gone?
China is having problems on several fronts. One thing that has changed markedly is that China is no longer the country with the most people, in fact, China is on the brink of population implosion. In order to revive their sagging birthrate the country is trying a few ways to get more people to marry and to have babies at least two, but even three if they can. China removed a three-decade-old tax exemption on contraceptive drugs and devices from January 1 in new steps to spur a flagging birth rate. China exempted childcare subsidies from personal income tax and rolled out an annual childcare subsidy last year, following a series of “fertility-friendly” measures in 2024, such as urging colleges and universities to provide “love education” to portray marriage, love, fertility and family in a positive light. Including video like the sad grandparents below. China’s birth rates have been falling for decades as a result of the one-child policy China implemented from 1980 to 2015, and rapid urbanization. The high cost of childcare and education as well as job uncertainty and a slowing economy.
China hiked taxes on condoms in attempt to boost falling birth rate contraceptives will be subject to a 13% VAT rate – part of a carrot-and-stick approach by the government to increase births. China is set to impose a value-added tax (like an additional sales tax) on condoms and other contraceptives for the first time in three decades. Provinces have been experimenting with offering discounts on IVF treatment and cash subsidies for extra children. Some local governments offer newlyweds extra days of paid leave to encourage people to tie the knot. The new VAT law also includes a tax break for childcare and “marriage introduction services.”
Brain washing on TV
Condoms and contraceptives look set to become more expensive has been met with ridicule on social media. “What is wrong with modern society? They are truly going to extreme lengths just to make us have children,” wrote one user on Weibo. Allegedly, Chinese “parents” are reportedly turning to AI-generated videos portraying regretful protagonists to convince their children to get married and have children. According to multiple media reports, Chinese video-sharing platforms like Douyin and Weibo are being flooded with AI-generated videos featuring aging protagonists expressing regret at not having listened to their parents and started a family when they were young. The growing trend has been dubbed a “cyber siege” by worried parents to convince their offspring to start a family. Critics warn that such tactics will only deepen social divisions between the married and unmarried. The feedback has been negative, though, young people seem to find the videos and the entire trend hilarious. “It’s quite funny that they used AI, because they couldn’t find a real person to cry and urge people to get married.” Others said that the videos will only make single people more frustrated with their parents and make them want to stay single just to spite them.
Chinese baby smiles
My Chinese son was born before his due date.
We called him Sudden Lee.
I think it’s pretty cool how the Chinese made a language…
entirely out of tattoos.
A Chinese man went to a psychiatrist in Beijing:
He says “I am under a lot of stress. I feel like I am being watched. I feel like there are cameras everywhere, my phone is bugged, someone is opening my mail, and I think I am even being followed by secret police.”
The psychiatrist says “. . . . And?”
I asked my Chinese friend what it’s like living in China.
He says he can’t complain.
January 7th Birthdays
1993 – Olympia Valance, 1891 – Zora Neal Hurston, 1982 – Lauren Cohan, 1988 – Haley Bennett
1948 – Kenny Loggins, 1964 – Nicolas Cage, 1971 – Jeremy Renner, 1963 – Rand Paul