China’s Population Crisis: Schools Close Across China as Birth Rate Plummets, Is Forced Birth Near?

China’s Population Crisis: Schools Close Across China as Birth Rate Plummets, Is Forced Birth Near?

China’s Population Crisis: Schools Close Across China as Birth Rate Plummets, Is Forced Birth Near?

The economic and population crises are pressing issues that the Chinese authorities are compelled to face and resolve urgently. What should be done about the plummeting birthrate and the fact that young people are not getting married? Efforts from top to bottom need to be mobilized. We've seen suggestions from experts at the National People's Congress in recent years that marriage should be encouraged from a young age, proposing that 18-year-olds should be able to get married.
On university campuses, the changes are even more drastic. A decade ago, college students were not allowed to marry, and pregnancy could lead to expulsion. Now, in a 180-degree turn to boost marriage rates, colleges in mainland China are awarding extra academic credit to students who get married. One blogger even shared a photo of herself taken during her pregnancy at her graduation. Zhengzhou Business College went a step further, offering fully equipped maternity rooms for students with children, akin to those in hotels, demonstrating a tremendous effort to encourage marriage and childbirth.
However, many netizens believe that university students, who are yet to step into society and whose views on life and values are still in the process of formation, might be acting too hastily by marrying and having children just for academic credits and other benefits. Marriage is a lifelong commitment; wouldn't a more thoughtful approach be better?