Chinese netizens flooded comment sections criticizing the former one-child policy following the death of Peng Peiyun, former chairwoman of the Family Planning Commission. They view the policy as the root cause of China's sharp population decline and rapid transition to an aging society, with some saying, "The children who never had the chance to be born are waiting for you in the next life."
The death of Peng Peiyun, former chairwoman of the Family Planning Commission who oversaw China's one-child policy from 1988 to 1998, sparked a heated debate on Chinese social media this week. Instead of the usual tributes, her passing received a flood of critical responses.
Peng died in Beijing last Sunday (21 Dec) at nearly 96 years old. Chinese state media praised her as an "outstanding leader" in women's and children's affairs. However, the social media platform Weibo was filled with complaints and attacks on the consequences of the policy she once managed.
One widely shared post referenced forced abortions and sterilizations resulting from the extreme population control policy, stating, "Those children lost are waiting for you there (in the next life)."
The one-child policy was enforced from 1980 to 2015 due to concerns about overpopulation. It led to harsh local enforcement, especially in rural areas where cultural preferences for male heirs to continue the family line and provide elder care prevailed, resulting in female infanticide, forced abortions, and abandoned children.
One netizen posted, "If we had abandoned the one-child policy 10 years earlier, China's population wouldn't have plummeted this badly!" Another added, "Those children, if born, would now be nearly 40 years old — the prime age to contribute to the country's strength."
Currently, China is experiencing a population decline for the third consecutive year. Latest 2024 data shows the population has dropped to 1.39 billion, and China lost its status as the world's most populous country to India in 2023.
Although Peng began advocating for policy relaxation around 2010, it appears to have been too late. The Chinese government is now trying every method to boost birth rates, including child-rearing subsidies, extended maternity leave, and tax benefits, but these efforts have yet to resolve the aging society and labor shortages.
This crisis raises concerns that China, the world's second-largest economy, will face enormous fiscal burdens to support its elderly population amid a shrinking workforce, posing an economic time bomb in the near future.