Social Stability - 25. page

On October 14, 2021, China Business News ran a feature on the second baby-boomer population. The article was based on an interview with Yuan Xin, professor at the School of Economics of Nankai University, Tianjin, China.

Since 1949, China has experienced three “baby boomer periods.” They were from 1950 to1958, 1962 to 1975, and 1981 to1997. Those born during the three “baby boomer periods” will enter their 60s in 2010 to 2018, 2022 to 2035, and 2041 to 2057. These periods will bring three “shock waves” to China’s economy. 

Next year, China’s second baby-boomer population will officially become 60 years old.

Yuan said that at the end of the 21st century, the population of 60 and above will remain at 400 million and account for over 37 percent of the entire population in China.

Yuan said that, compared with other countries in the world, China’s elderly population has four unique characteristics.

One, China has a large number of older people who are 60 and above. According to the United Nations (UN) “World Population Prospects 2019,” forecast data shows that in 2052, China’s population of people at age 60 and above will reach the peak of 490 million people. One out of every four older people in the world will live in China.

Two, China is aging at an unprecedented rapid speed. Yuan said that the average annual growth rate of China’s elderly population far exceeds the average annual growth rate of the total population. The rate of population aging in China is faster than in countries with more than 100 million people.

Three, China has a larger share of the population aged 60 and above in its total population. In 2000, ten percent of its total population were 60 and above (aging country). The 2020 national census shows that the figure has reached 18.7 percent. It will exceed 20 percent in 2025 (making China a deeply aging country) and 30 percent in 2041 (making it a severely aging country), according to the United Nations. This means that it will take China 25 years from 2000 to transition from an aging country to a deeply aging country in 2025. That is 45 to 50 years faster than the average of developed countries. 

Further, it will take merely 16 years for China to transition from a deeply aging country in 2025 to a severely aging country in 2041, 14 years faster than the average of developed countries. In 2041, China will have  one of the oldest populations in the world.

Four, China is a super-stable aging country. When the rapid aging process is over, China will be a super-stable aging country in the second half of the 21st century due to its large senior population. By then, the size of China’s elderly population will remain between 400 million and 480 million, which is between 35 percent and 38 percent of its total population. 

Source: China Business Network, October 14, 2021

https://www.yicai.com/news/101197277.html

On September 27, Ding Yiduo, a refugee from China, shared with the Epoch Times about a harassment phone call he received from China.

In 2019, prior to China’s National Day, Ding posted comments in his WeChat account to support the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement. He was detained, interrogated and threatened. After his release, Ding worked as crew member for a Chinese ocean carrier. In 2020, when he was on a business trip to the US, Ding decided to stay and seek refugee protection.

On September 25, Epoch Times published an interview with Ding about his experience in China. Two days later, Ding received a call from the chief of his village back home. The village chief called Ding a traitor and accused Ding because he vilified China and the party. He told Ding that if Ding can’t control the damage from the  Epoch Times‘ report, Ding’s name will be removed from his family’s genealogy.

Ding believes that the CCP public security bureau must have ordered the village chief to make the call, which was full of CCP propaganda and manipulation. He told Epoch Times he became more disappointed about CCP regime after the call. He thinks that he should do more to expose the evil nature of the CCP.

Source: Epoch Times, September 29, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/9/29/n13269831.htm

Chen Yixin, Secretary General of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission (PLAC) of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Central Committee, recently visited the city of Shenzhen. Chen pointed out that the current domestic and international security environment is becoming more complex and that it is necessary to optimize the grid-based grassroots management mechanism, improve the coverage of video surveillance, and set up a “red property management team.”

The PLAC is a very powerful Chinese Communist Party organ that oversees all judicial and law enforcement authorities, including the Supreme Court, Supreme Procuratorate, the Ministry of State Security, Ministry and Public Security, and the police force. The Secretary General is a senior leadership position in the Commission.

Chen pointed out that, in recent years, there have been mass social unrest cases where people’s conflicts and disputes were not solved in a timely manner. They all relate to “grassroots governance.” He said that “grid management” is an effective innovation in grassroots governance, and it is necessary to improve China’s grid management.

The Chinese government has divided local “grassroots” communities into a grid pattern, with each grid made up of 15 to 20 households. They are monitored by a designated person called the “grid administrator.” These persons must fully familiarize themselves with the residents in their grid – who lives there, their housing and facilities, their membership in organizations, and their place of work. In addition, they must identify any possible hidden dangers. The authorities make use of the “grid management” system to exert the most microscopic grip over every Chinese citizen and resident.

Chen proposed that there should be a focus on the entrances and exits of buildings and public areas, improved coverage of video surveillance, and a focus on the use of big data to predict risks and refine the “grid management” to ensure that the grid covers a moderate population and area. Business buildings, enterprises and institutions are divided into specially designated grids.

Chen asked grid administrators to mingle themselves with the people, watch out for the first signs of any problems, and organize CCP members and cadres in the community grids.

Chen said he would work with government bodies to promote “red property management” and introduce the participation of CCP members and university students, so that CCP cadres in the community also serve as the head of property management.

Source: Website of Political and Legal Affairs Commission, September 22, 2021
http://www.chinapeace.gov.cn/chinapeace/c100007/2021-09/21/content_12539687.shtml