Chinese women have been sharing their experiences receiving phone calls from government workers and officials, during which they are asked invasive questions about family planning and whether or not they are pregnant.
"I got a call from a grassroots (worker) this morning, asking if I was pregnant," wrote one woman in a post that went viral on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu.
One social media user said that she was told to solicit familial support in taking care of another child after being encouraged to get pregnant again.
"You can get pregnant first. If your mother-in-law can't take care of (your children), you can ask your mum," she was allegedly told on the phone.
"Things are getting desperate," commented one Weibo user. "I can't see how effective this type of interrogation will be in the long run. How will it contribute to population numbers?"
35-year-old Jane Huang's first instinct was to laugh when she received one of the notorious "fertility call checks," reported Bangkok Post.
"Ni Hao! Is that Ms Huang? Sorry to disturb you. I am from your sub-district office, are you pregnant now?" Huang was asked on the phone by an unknown government worker.
"I laughed so hard when I told my husband about it. The surveyor must be from the previous generation, who did not realize that she was talking to a whole different generation that values privacy, quality of life and choices much more," said Huang.
China has been battling a record-low birth rate in recent years. In 2023, the nation's population diminished for the second year in a row, decreasing by 2 million. Furthermore, that year only saw the birth of 9.02 million babies, decreasing from 9.56 million births in 2022.
On Oct. 17, China's Population and Development Research Center stated that it would "obtain new data on views on marriage and fertility and key influencing factors" using nationwide survey data.
However, the nation's declining birth rate is also attributed to the de-stigmatization of professional women.
"The low birth rate nowadays may be due to the change of mindset among young people," Chinese resident Lisa Pang told the Telegraph. "Previous generations had children as a form of security for when they get old. The new generation has jobs and insurance to support them, so they only have children because they want to."
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