Faced with a low fertility rate, China desperately needs more newborns, but many people are totally unwilling to consider the issue of having children.
Last week, China announced that it would once again relax family planning and introduced a three-child policy to encourage urban young people to have children, but this policy has been ridiculed by people.
The one-child policy has long affected Chinese society. Many netizens said that it is difficult for people to have a second child, let alone a third child.
Weibo netizen Sivan wrote in the comments: “I dare not have one child, but I have three children.”
In fact, before the introduction of the three-child policy, Chinese young people had already created a related buzzword on social media-“Lie Ping”. This term describes the state of people avoiding social problems and stress in a self-deprecating tone.
Official media criticized and censored “Lying Ping”
AP: Andy Wong
)“Lying Ping” refers to a “failureist” lifestyle in which people no longer work hard to pursue material conditions and no longer participate in social interactions.
The vocabulary invented by this young man was born in response to the current social anxiety and pressure in China, and it also involves people’s worries about fertility issues and related expenses.
Some people regard “Lying Flat” as a kind of non-violent and non-cooperative movement of young people. They think it expresses people’s dissatisfaction with suppressed work culture and their feelings of powerlessness to change their social class.
In the 35 years since 1980, families in urban areas of China have been unable to give birth to a second child for a long time. If they violate the regulations, they may face large fines, lose their jobs, and even suffer forced abortions and sterilization.
In 2015, China relaxed this one-child policy and began to encourage second-children.
Now, the Chinese government hopes that people can have three children to promote population growth. Recent population data show that the current population growth rate in China has slowed to its slowest time since 1960.
Not long before the three-child policy was introduced, many Chinese state media published articles criticizing “lying flatism” and calling it shameful to lie flat.
Some social media groups related to “Laiping” have been deleted.
On May 30, the “Laiping” group on the Douban website was removed, and many posts containing the word “Laiping” also disappeared.
Many comments on the three-child policy on the official Weibo account of Xinhua News Agency were quickly deleted.
Another Xinhua News Agency initiated a vote on the three-child policy-“Are you ready for the three children?” After more than 90% of the participants chose the option of “not considering at all”, the voting post was deleted .
However, the discussion did not stop. Baidu Tieba’s “Lying Ping” bar still has more than 180,000 members.
Pressure that accompanies the increase in fertility
Lucy Yu lives in Beijing and is 32 years old this year. September is the due date for her twins.
To Lucy, lying flat is an illusion.
She would use this word in conversation, but in reality, she did not lie flat.
“I use this word to laugh at myself, and others use it, but I still have to do what I should do,” Lucy said.
“This is a kind of rhetoric. Where can you really lie down?”
Lucy discussed the three-child policy with several older colleagues who were born in the 1970s.
“They did want a second child before, but it was too late to open a second child,” Lucy said.
“Their generation has brothers and sisters, and they are richer, but they have no chance.”
For younger people, the three-child policy looks different.
“Ordinary working-class people are busy supporting their families, and the three-child policy is of little relevance to people. It’s too tired to create unnecessary burdens for themselves.”
Supplied
)Anabel Ye (Anabel Ye) is 20 years old this year, a sophomore major in financial management, and she feels a little flat.
“There will be a little bit, there are really too many good people now,” Annabel said.
“Many times I worked hard and felt that I didn’t get the corresponding reward. Over time, the inner momentum was smoothed out.”
She thinks the direction of the three-child policy is good, but she is also worried about some of the problems faced by young people.
In the future, Annabel hopes to have one or two children, but said that it also depends on the future situation.
“It’s not easy to give children a good family and educational environment. I have to work and don’t have so much time and energy. My ideal state is to want two children. I am also very afraid that I will be This kind of pressure does not want to marry or have children.”
The low fertility rate is not only the result of the one-child policy
Professor Fei Guo, who is engaged in demographic research at Macquarie University, believes that easing birth restrictions is a good thing, but she is not sure whether this policy will achieve the desired effect.
“China’s low fertility rate started at the same time when China’s economy and urban modernization began to develop rapidly,” Professor Guo said.
Reuters: Aly Song
)She said that there is a socio-economic foundation behind China’s low fertility rate.
The pressure on the cost of living, such as education, puts pressure on many people, which will reduce people’s willingness to have children.
Professor Guo believes that improving maternity leave regulations will help.
“If this is the burden of the company, then couples or mothers who want to have children will be discriminated against and in a disadvantaged position because the company has to bear the cost of their maternity leave.”
“This is a matter of social rules and cultural attitudes. In addition to economic stimulus, people also need to change their perceptions of mothers raising children and older parents.”
If China does not make more changes to encourage people to have children, it will face the possibility of negative population growth like South Korea.
However, Professor Guo said that those financially affluent families may usher in the possibility of having more family members.
Urgent need for fair maternity leave
Reuters: Tingshu Wang
)Human Rights Watch (Human Rights Watch) China researcher Wang Yaqiu recently conducted research on China’s previous second-child policy and gender discrimination in the workplace.
Wang Yaqiu believes that the three-child policy may cause the company to further reduce its willingness to hire women.
After the one-child policy was replaced by the two-child policy, gender discrimination in the workplace in China has increased.
“In 35 years, most women have only taken maternity leave once and only need to take care of one child at home.”
“When you hire a female employee, if she already has a child, you know she won’t take another maternity leave.”
“The company is beginning to worry that the new policy will make them even more reluctant to hire women.”
Wang Yaqiu, like Professor Guo, believes that a fair maternity leave plan needs to be implemented at the same time as the three-child policy, in addition to the implementation of anti-discrimination laws.
Wang Yaqiu said that China still has “the problem of expelling employees because of pregnancy.”
“The situation may get worse because employers will probably have to face three maternity leave for their employees.”
Because there is no mandatory parental leave, the company does not need to pay for maternity leave from the father during childbirth, so it is more expensive to hire women in China.
If China wants to change this situation, it needs to provide equally fair maternity leave for men and women.
There are two main reasons for people’s dislike of the three-child policy, Wang Yaqiu said.
Another reason, in Wang Yaqiu’s view, is that the damage left by the one-child policy is still a nightmare for many families.
“For many families, the way this policy is implemented is cruel, including forced abortion and sterilization. Now the government finds that the policy has led to an aging population and people need to have more children,” said Wang Yaqiu.
“Of course people will be suspicious-‘You have controlled our body for so long, now you want us to change direction?'”
Related English articles
.