As China’s population shrinks, many from its one-child generation push back against having kids | CBC News

For the first time in six decades, China’s population shrank last year. It’s resulted in growing fears around the future of the country’s economy and has pushed government authorities and private companies to launch incentive programs to boost the population.

Just last week, government officials in the Chinese province of Sichuan announced they would allow couples to have an unlimited number of children. It’s a radical turn from the days of the one-child policy, which was in place from 1980 to 2015.

According to Mei Fong, author of One Child: The Story of China’s Most Radical Experiment, that policy has influenced a generation of young people to push back against societal expectations around marriage and childbearing. 

This week on Nothing is Foreign, we dig into those changing attitudes and how they might help us understand the population decline we’re seeing in China today.

Featuring:

• Mei Fong, author of One Child: The Story of China’s Most Radical Experiment.

Nothing is Foreign, a podcast from CBC News and CBC Podcasts, is a weekly trip to where the story is unfolding. It’s hosted by Tamara Khandaker.