Do it for good of China, young couples told

WITH China facing a demographic crisis of stalling birth rates and a fast-ageing population, one city has taken a novel approach: a direct call to action aimed at young government officials to lead the way and have a second child.

The government of Yichang city, in Hubei province, posted an open letter calling on young cadres to have more children to stem a slide in birth rates in the city which is stunting economic growth.

The demographic timebomb has become increasingly urgent as China faces its slowest economic growth in a quarter of a century, with manufacturing hit by a dearth of cheap labour due in part to a shrinking workforce.

“Young cadres have to take the lead having a second child, while elder cadres should urge them on,” the letter said, citing a need to bolster the city’s working population and raise a fertility rate that has fallen below one child per woman.

China said last year it would ease family planning restrictions to allow all couples to have two children after decades of a strict one-child policy, a move aimed at relieving demographic strains.

Beijing has loosened the rules over the past few years in the face of concerns the strict policy was leading to a shrinking workforce unable to support a fast-growing elderly population. By the middle of this century, one in every three Chinese are forecast to be over 60.

The letter received a mixed response. “Our jobs are stable so it’s easier to have two children,” said Yan Liu, a civil servant with a 14-month-old girl in Shanghai.

“It’s really ridiculous,” one user posted on microblog platform Sina Weibo. “Before, the government strictly watched over people not have a second child. Now, they are forcing people to do so. Do we have human rights or not?” —