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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Verna Yu

‘The last generation’: the young Chinese people vowing not to have children

Two people push a child riding on a suitcase at Beijing West railway station
China’s population has shrunk for the first time since 1961, triggering the start of a long period of decline. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Talk to any young woman in urban China about the prospects of having children and the chances are, they are not keen.

“It costs too much to give kids a decent life. The stuff they teach at school is propaganda, so I’d want to send them to an international school or abroad. But I can’t afford that,” said Kongkong, a 26-year-old researcher who swears she will not have children.

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