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A city in China will start to pay a monthly subsidy to families that decide to have a third child in an effort to reverse the country’s catastrophic birth rate, according to a report published by China’s state-run newspaper Global Times on Sunday.
The Global Times reported that the city of Shenyang, located in the northeast province of Liaoning, will offer a subsidy of 500 yuan ($72.96) to local families that have a third child. The monthly subsidy will last until the child reaches 3 years of age.
The announcement follows the recent calls for action from Chinese health officials, who have urged local governments to make “bold innovations” in reducing the cost of childbirth in an attempt to offset the nation’s population decline.
For decades under the Communist Party, having more than one child per couple was illegal. Between 1980 and 2015, China imposed a draconian “one-child policy” enforced through forced abortions and infanticide. The fervent desire for sons resulted in the mass killing of girl babies for decades; Chinese officials estimate that 400 million people were “prevented” from existing under the policy.
Genocidal dictator Xi Jinping “softened” the policy in 2016, allowing two legal children, and expanded to a “three-child policy” in 2021. The birth rate continued to decline severely following the easing of the one-child policy.
