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China’s Number of First Marriages Fell Below 12 Million Last Year

China.com recently reported that, according to data just published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, in 2021, the number of first marriages in China was 11.578 million, a decrease of 708,000 from the previous year. This is also the first time in 37 years that the number of first marriages has fallen below 12 million. It represents a new low since 1985. In the past 8 years, the number of first marriages has dropped by 51.5 percent. Data also shows that in 2021, there were 7.643 million marriage registrations. This is the first time since 2003 that the number of marriages has fallen below the 8 million mark. In recent years, the age of the first marriage of young people has been greatly delayed. According to the China Census Yearbook-2020, the average age of a first marriage in 2020 was 28.67 years old, an increase of 3.78 years from the average age of first marriages in 2010 (24.89 years old). Marriage registration data includes the number of first marriages and the number of remarriages. The number of first marriages is more closely related to the number of births than the number of remarriages. The decline in the number of marriages will also have a greater impact on future population development. First, the number of births will decrease even more and the birth rate will continue to decline. Second, the natural growth rate of the population will also be affected. Third, the average life expectancy of people will continue to increase and the population structure will further age. Data shows that in 2021, the proportion of China’s population aged 65 and over reached 14.2 percent. With reasons such as the decrease in the number of first marriages, this ratio is expected to continue to increase.

Source: China.com, December 2, 2022
http://guoqing.china.com.cn/2022-12/02/content_78548985.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

The CCP Tries to Cool Down the Blank Sheets of Paper Protest

As protests against the authorities’ extreme COVID control policy are mushrooming throughout China, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been attempting to douse the fire with what appears to be both carrots and sticks. Blank sheets of paper have become a symbol of resistance among those protesting Beijing’s COVID lockdown policies. They are showing up at protests across the nation. In a nation where a protest message could get a person jailed, opponents of the Chinese regime are innovating by using a a blank page to call for change. Thus, the blank sheet of paper has become a symbol of resistance

The CCP issued a tough message through the Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC), the top CCP organ in charge of domestic security, and through the judicial system, with a meeting on November 28 to announce it would “resolutely crack down on the infiltration and sabotage activities of hostile forces, and resolutely crack down on illegal and criminal acts that disrupt the social order.”

Truckloads of armed police have been dispatched to Shanghai and Beijing. In Guangzhou, the police have clashed with protesters. Demonstrators have thrown glass bottles at the police, and the police have used tear gas to disperse the protestors.

On the other hand, the central government has also made a conciliatory gesture regarding COVID restrictions. The National Health Commission stated on November 29 that “COVID control should lock down quickly and open up quickly (afterwards)” and “wherever it can open up, it should open up.”

Some local authorities have yielded to protesters’ demands and relaxed COVID controls in certain regions. The Guangzhou government ended the lockdown in Haizhu District on Nov 16 after the public protest. Urumqi in Xinjiang released several residential neighborhoods on Nov 26 after people took to the streets and the Shanghai government announced that on Dec 1, it would end the control in 24 high-risk regions.

Whether the CCP’s “hard and soft” strategy will completely quiet down the protest remains to be seen.

Sources:
1. Chinascope, November 29, 2022
http://chinascope.org/archives/31170
1. The Paper, November 29, 2022
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_20945808
2. China Outlook, November 30, 2022
https://news.creaders.net/china/2022/11/30/2552449.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Social Stability

French Chamber of Commerce Called for Removing Excessive Covid Restrictions

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that the “French Embassy in China” posted in Chinese Weibo and pointed out that China’s Zero Covid policy has had an impact on French companies in China, who provide 570,000 jobs in China. French companies very much welcome the recent 20 measures to optimize the Covid control framework announced by China on November 11, which will greatly reduce the negative impact of pandemic prevention on economic activities and people’s lives. However, the French Chamber of Commerce in China has noticed that since the policy was first announced, the actual implementation results have not met the expectations of French companies in China. The Chamber of Commerce called on the Chinese government to truly implement the 20-measure policy and remove unnecessary and excessive covid restrictions. The Chamber of Commerce reiterated that French companies hope to see a clear strategy formulated in the near future to get out of the Zero Covid policy as soon as possible. China still plays a pivotal role for French companies and a transparent, predictable and fair business environment is essential. The announcement issued by the Chamber indicated that the three major obstacles are: severely restricted Chinese domestic business travel, international travel between China and France is still being restricted, and there is a more and more serious trend of restricting local business activities within a city. The French Embassy Weibo received massive comments from Chinese netizens, mainly to support the Embassy. Some thanked the French for the posting since the Chinese government typically don’t delete Embassy content to control speech.

Source: NetEase, November 25, 2022
https://www.163.com/dy/article/HMVR6U2K0534B9EY.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend Social Stability

China’s State TV Deletes Footage of Maskless World Cup Audience

China’s draconian COVID-19 control measures have led to nationwide street protests. The ongoing World Cup contributed to Chinese people’s anger as the state TV broadcasted the larges crowds who were in the game audience and who wore no mask. Now, Beijing is even cutting out close-ups of unmasked soccer fans in Qatar.

Agence France-Presse reported that during the live broadcast of the group stage match between Japan and Costa Rica, the sports channel of state broadcaster CCTV (China Central Television) Sports replaced close-ups of unmasked fans waving flags with images of individual players, officials or long shots of the stadium.

As tens of millions of people in major cities including Beijing, Guangzhou and Chongqing are still under some form of lockdown, the images of a happy and raucous maskless World Cup audience presents a stark contrast, angering Chinese netizens.

On November 22, a WeChat post questioning whether “China is on the same planet as Qatar” was swiftly removed from the cyberspace.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), November 27, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202211270231.aspx

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

CCP Political and Legal Affairs Committee: Resolutely Crack Down on Disruption of the Social Order

On November 28, two days after the outbreak of nationwide protests against the zero-COVID policy, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC) held a plenary session emphasizing the need to “resolutely crack down on the infiltration and sabotage activities of hostile forces, and resolutely crack down on illegal and criminal acts that disrupt the social order.”

Chen Wenqing, the new head of the PLAC, presided over the meeting.  Wang Xiaohong, the Minister of Public Security, Zhou Qiang, the president of the Supreme People’s Court, and Zhang Jun, the president of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate also attended. As the four are the leaders of China’s judiciary authorities, the meeting was considered to be the CCP’s response to the protests.

This meeting called for strengthening the “combat spirit” and accelerating the construction of a higher level of “a safe China under the rule of law.”

This meeting stressed the need promptly to channel and resolve conflicts and disputes and to help solve the practical difficulties of the people. It also asked “resolutely to combat the infiltration and sabotage activities of hostile forces, resolutely to combat illegal and criminal acts that disrupt the social order, and effectively to maintain the general stability of society.”

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), November 29, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202211290383.aspx

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

State Media Reemphasized Adherence to the Zero-Covid Policy

When it was widely expected in China that Xi Jinping would no longer insist on the Zero-Covid policy, a commentary published in the state newspaper on November 14 mentioned the need to insist on the Zero-Covid policy nine times and even suggested that “epidemic prevention and control should be a routine procedure.”

On November 15, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) People’s Daily newspaper ran a commentary which mentioned that “unswervingly implementing the overall policy of ‘Zero Covid’” was a decision made at the November 10 Politburo meeting chaired by Xi Jinping, and that the “optimization program” recently proposed by the State Council is not a relaxation of prevention and control, let alone is it giving up the policy.

The article said, “The implementation of the Zero Covid policy is determined by of the CCP’s Central Committee under comrade Xi Jinping.  … Adhering to the zero Covid policy is the bottom line of epidemic prevention and control for a large country of 1.4 billion people.”

The article does not mention when the zero Covid policy will end, but only emphasized the need not to give up.

Source: Radio Free Asia, November 15, 2022
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/wulb-11152022191929.htmli

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

China Released 20 Measures on the Control of COVID

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Politburo held a meeting on November 10 to review its COVID policy, including 20 measures it proposed on “optimizing” the  control of COVID. The next day, the State Council published the 20 measures.

Some highlights of the new rules are:

Measure #1: Those who had close contact with a COVID patient will follow the “5+3” rule (five days of centralized quarantine followed by an additional three days of home quarantine) instead of the current “7+3” rule.

Measure #2: Stop identifying the second-level contacts (people who had contact with the people who had contact with COVID a patient)

Measure #3: People from high-risk regions going to other places will follow a seven-day home quarantine instead of the current centralized quarantine.

Measure #4: Adjust region’s risk level from “high-media-low” to “high-low.” High-risk is narrowed to a building or a unit (in the past the control was more limited to the residential community which usually is a walled residential compound with many buildings within).

Measure #6: Regions with no COVID cases do not need to have all-people PCR test. The “two tests per day” or “three tests per day” practices will be stopped.

Measure #7: Eliminate the inbound flight meltdown mechanism (stop the airline’s next flight(s) if COVID patients were detected on the current flight). Passengers only need to provide one negative COVID test in the past 48 hours (instead of two negative tests).

Measure #10: People coming into China from other countries will follow the “5+3” rule instead of the current “7+3” rule.

Measure #12: Promote COVID vaccinations.

Sources:
1. People’s Daily, November 10, 2022
http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2022/1110/c1024-32563558.html
2. People’s Daily, November 12, 2022
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2022-11/12/nw.D110000renmrb_20221112_2-04.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability