The CCP's "Creative Pro-Natalism" Starts with Children: Ridiculous to the Extent of the "Ceausescu Era"

When the children of a country can't even afford a three-yuan free lunch, the officials and 'patriots' of this country often aren’t thinking about feeding the children. Instead, they are trying every possible way to... (video screenshot)

[People News] The CCP's decades-long one-child policy has backfired, with China's labor force drastically shrinking, and an aging society emerging sooner than expected in recent years. The CCP authorities have repeatedly introduced pro-natalist policies, but with little effect. The CCP is now "applying stronger measures," as the State Council promotes new initiatives, including advocating marriage and procreation views, which have stirred controversy by aiming to integrate these into primary and secondary school curricula. Critics outrightly condemn the CCP authorities for infringing upon citizens' basic reproductive rights.

According to a report by the CCP’s state-run media, Xinhua, on Monday (28th), the State Council General Office recently issued the Several Measures on Accelerating the Improvement of the Birth Support Policy System and Promoting the Construction of a Birth-Friendly Society. The document includes incorporating views on marriage and childbearing into primary, secondary, and college education, which has led to netizens mocking the idea as "starting reproduction with children."

According to Radio Free Asia, the document states that it is guided by "Xi Jinping’s New Era of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics," and outlines a series of pro-natalist measures across four areas.

The first measure aims to strengthen birth support services, including enhancing maternity insurance, improving maternity leave policies, and incorporating certain assisted reproduction projects into the medical insurance reimbursement scope. The second measure focuses on strengthening the childcare service system. The third measure reinforces support for education, housing, and employment, such as encouraging multiple-child families through housing support policies.

The fourth measure, which has been widely criticized by the public, is the "fostering a birth-friendly societal atmosphere" measure, which includes vigorously promoting positive views on marriage, procreation, and family; strengthening social propaganda advocacy; enhancing education on population policies, and integrating relevant content into primary, secondary, and college education.

Commentary: "Creative Pro-Natalism" Demonstrates the Absurdity of Policies in an Authoritarian State

"1989 Artist" Jifeng told Radio Free Asia that the CCP authorities promoted the slogan "With the one-child policy, the government will care for you in old age" decades ago but never fulfilled it. Now, as a massive crisis emerges, the government introduces "creative pro-natalist" policies, revealing the absurdity of policies in an authoritarian state.

Jifeng said: "Why not simply set up a checkpoint at the neighborhood entrance? Anyone who is of age and hasn't married or given birth should be denied entry. The government is already acting at an extreme, from the initial 'With the one-child policy, the government will care for you in old age' to the eventual 'You can't rely on the government for old-age care.' It’s all talk that was never properly implemented. This is just deception. It's normal for authoritarian states to behave this way; anything that is against human nature, civilization, or morality is seen as normal."

Jifeng believes that China’s current severe economic downturn and record-high unemployment rates among young people are reasons why many dare not have children. A segment of the awakened population voices "We are the last generation" to protest the CCP's control over citizens' reproductive rights and other fundamental rights.

Jifeng said: "Mainly, the economy has declined to such an extent, the economy is so bad, that life for individuals in the lower and middle classes has become very difficult. Where will the strength come from to raise children? The awakened resist, demanding freedom for their wombs and reproductive freedom; the vast majority of people who are not yet awakened do the same because they can no longer survive, which can also be called instinctive resistance."

Commentary: The CCP Infringes on Citizens' Basic Reproductive Rights

Currently residing in the United States, former sociology professor at Renmin University Zhou Xiaozheng also told Radio Free Asia that the CCP authorities are infringing on citizens' basic reproductive rights.

Zhou Xiaozheng said: "The CCP is an evil group; it previously prevented people from having children, and now it wants them to have children. In my view, it's one mistake after another. Reproduction is a basic human right, and their family planning policies were wrong. They shouldn't control whether people have children."

Exiled legal scholar and visiting professor at the City University of New York, Teng Biao, also told Radio Free Asia that the CCP has never had a scientific decision-making mechanism. The "One-Child Policy," which violated ethics, science, and human rights, was implemented for years, and now the CCP is experiencing its consequences, but it is once again swinging to the other extreme with a "Ceausescu-style" pro-natalist policy.

Teng Biao said: "The CCP has finally realized that the previous one-child policy has significantly undermined its rule, so it now wants to amend it. However, lacking scientific and democratic decision-making, the CCP, when it takes action, swings from one extreme to the other. Now they want to include pro-natalist concepts in primary and secondary school textbooks, which is reminiscent of the 'Ceausescu' era, reflecting the absurdity and brutality of this regime."

During the rule of former Romanian Communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu, Decree 770 was enacted to increase Romania’s population by restricting abortions and contraceptives. Enforcers of these policies were known as "menstrual police."

As early as last year, Chinese netizens revealed that after the COVID-19 pandemic, a "new function" emerged in several local community committees: visiting homes to encourage births and questioning childless women about their menstrual cycles.

The social media blog "Homework Book" on platform X also recently shared the experiences of some Chinese women who reported receiving multiple calls from their community committee and neighborhood office asking about their menstrual cycles, subtly urging them to have children. Some childless women were even asked to confirm their menstrual cycles at the town government.

"Homework Book" questioned whether basic reproductive rights and privacy rights for women even exist in China. Some netizens believe that the CCP authorities are shifting the pressure of population structure onto local government officials.