If the bride is 25 or under, couples will get cash: And where and why?
Local Chinese officials are providing a financial incentive that all newlywed couples can appreciate in an effort to promote early weddings.
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Reward of 1000 yuan
On the county's official We Chat account, officials in Changshan county, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, announced last week that couples who wed while the bride is 25 years of age or younger will receive a reward of 1,000 yuan ($137).
The incentive, which is only available to first-time married couples, was created to encourage "age-appropriate marriage and childbearing," according to the announcement. A number of subsidies for child care, education, and fertility were also announced by the county.
Decline in Population first time in last 60 years
In light of the growing demographic crisis in China, where the population fell last year for the first time in 60 years, officials at all levels of the government have been experimenting with various ways to boost the birth rate.
Abolished 'One-child policy'
They include ending the "one-child policy," which was in place from the late 1970s until 2016, which aimed to restrict the number of births in order to slow China's population growth. Couples are now permitted to have up to three kids starting in 2021.
Government initiatives, however, have not had the expected impact on China's fertility rate, which last year reached a record low of 1.09. China has the fewest offspring per woman among nations with populations more than 100 million, according to the government-sponsored China Population and Development Research Centre.
According to data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which was cited by the Chinese news portal Yicai in June, the number of marriages in China last year was 6.8 million, the lowest number since 1986.
Social media users slammed the cash reward scheme as "ineffective," claiming that the sum was insignificant in comparison to the huge cost of raising a child in China's highly competitive society. Others said that eliminating any reference to a male limit on age discriminated against women.
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