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

For the first time in six decades, China’s population shrank last year. This has caused fears about the future of the country’s economy and has pushed government authorities and private companies to launch incentive programs to increase the population.

Just last week, government officials in China’s Sichuan province announced they would allow couples to have unlimited children. This is a radical change from the era of the one-child policy, which was in place from 1980 to 2015.

By Mei Fong, author One Child: The Story of China’s Most Radical Experimentpolicies that have influenced the younger generation to push back against society’s expectations around marriage and children.

This week in Nothing is StrangerWe dug into the changes in their world and how they can help us understand the population decline we are seeing in China today.

Featuring:

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

Nothing is Stranger, a podcast from CBC News and CBC Podcasts, is a weekly trip to where the stories are. It was hosted by Tamara Khandaker.