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Chinese women have had it. Their response to Beijing’s demands for more children? No.
Fed up with government harassment and wary of the sacrifices of child-rearing, many young women are putting themselves ahead of what Beijing and their families want. Their refusal has set off a crisis for the Communist Party, which desperately needs more babies to rejuvenate China’s aging population.
With the number of babies in free fall—fewer than 10 million were born in 2022, compared with around 16 million in 2012—China is headed toward a demographic collapse. China’s population, now around 1.4 billion, is likely to drop to just around half a billion by 2100, according to some projections. Women are taking the blame.
In October, Chinese Leader Xi Jinping urged the state-backed All-China Women’s Federation to “prevent and resolve risks in the women’s field,” according to an official account of the speech.
“It’s clear that he was not talking about risks faced by women but considering women as a major threat to social stability,” said Clyde Yicheng Wang, an assistant professor of politics at Washington and Lee University who studies Chinese government propaganda.
The State Council, China’s top government body, didn’t respond to questions about Beijing’s population policies.
That’s, like, $250/mo American though, isn’t it? Imagine giving up a career that earns you $10k/mo so you can spend your time as a daycare worker for 1/40th of that.
Hong Kong and Shanghai business sectors have operating managers that try to foist 996 culture on people, and there are enough young people who don’t want to spend their lives on the farm willing to take the opportunity. But you by no means need to work a 996 in order to afford basic standard of living, outside of the high rent sectors in the bigger cities. You see similar work-till-you-drop attitudes across the Pacific Rim - in Japan and Korea and the Philippines and across the pond in California even.
There are plenty of American gig-economy workers and student workers and double-job-holding hard cases who work what amounts to a 996 in practice. As someone who tried to work while in college and hold down two jobs at once, early on in my life, I’ve seen it and lived it. A pure sucker’s bet, as the pay in these jobs is routinely shit and all that extra work never amounts to any kind of career advancement - just burnout. But this isn’t in any way unique to China, much less endemic.
Unemployment globally is at record lows. Demand for labor is ramping up as the Boomer generation retires and the smaller Millennial and Zoomer workforces matriculate into the industrial and service sectors. And, generally speaking, unemployed people (particularly high school/college drop outs) have more time and opportunity to fuck, not less. When you’re young, hot, and broke, fucking is one of the only reliable forms of entertainment. Also, a decently paid way to make a living.
But Western neoliberal culture hates when young people have kids, and both the economy and the legal system exist to punish you for it. Everything from tax laws to workplace advancement are predicated on you giving every ounce of time to your career. Dating, leisure, hobbies, and parental leave all come with a host of knock-on economic penalties and social stigmas.
Its not the unemployed people who are having trouble finding the time and opportunity to make babies. Its far more often the upwardly mobile who have to put off starting a family time and time again, because the economic costs grow considerably as you rise up the socio-economic ladder.