In recent times, communities across the country have been frequently making calls to residents to urge them to have more babies, and in some cases even showing up at their doors to pressure them, sparking public outrage. Some netizens have expressed that the Family Planning Office has turned into a Birth Urging Office, but it’s all about planned parenthood, with the most basic rights of human beings being repeatedly violated.
Netizens recently exposed on Xiaohongshu, a popular social media platform in China, that Donghua Street is carrying out pregnancy checks for women of childbearing age ranging from 14 to 49 years old. On October 17, Guiyun City Family Planning Association in Guizhou Province promoted the implementation of the Three-Child Birth Policy. Notifications from the Guangdong Fertility Evaluation Center and the Guangxi Preconception Screening showed that couples who have not conceived for over six months can apply for fertility assistance treatment subsidies. The preconception screening notification from Shandong stated that women can apply for fertility examination assistance activities.
Many netizens have shared their experiences of being pressured by community officials to have children soon after receiving their marriage certificates. Some have mentioned receiving calls from the Women’s Director asking about their expected due date. There are reports of street officials calling right after receiving their marriage certificates. Even when pregnant, they are repeatedly called to “check in” on whether they will keep the baby.
A netizen named “wiuqnag” from Zhejiang revealed that after registering in the community, not only did they receive calls, but also their parents were called, stating that the parents have the right to know if their child is pregnant. Another netizen named “Dahe” shared that getting a phone call was still considered lucky, as the community neighborhood committee came knocking on their door asking when they would have a second child.
Some netizens expressed irony, “Before the 1990s, family planning offices used to raid homes to catch pregnant women; their behavior changed when it came to demolition. Now, they call to ‘show concern’.” “Coming to the door to ask if you are pregnant and what methods you are using. It’s truly speechless.”
Ms. Wang from Shandong told a reporter from Dajiyuan that about ten years ago, shortly after she and her husband moved into their newly purchased home, the neighborhood committee auntie showed up and handed her a pregnancy test kit, asking her to test on the spot in the bathroom.
After becoming pregnant, she went to the local maternal and child health hospital for a check-up, where the first question the obstetrician asked was, “Do you want this child or not?” The entire hospital was filled with a smell of blood. In another top-tier hospital, the doctor habitually looked at her belly and said, “The fetus is too small now.” The abortion room was located next to the prenatal examination room.
She expressed understanding for the female compatriots’ resentment towards community harassment, whether for contraception or childbirth, as it is all very distasteful.
Some netizens responded by saying they were the ones making calls to ask if people were pregnant. “I don’t want to do this, but it’s a task, a political task.” “Usually, tasks come down from higher authorities, and then the community contacts one by one to ask.”
Others revealed that as long as they undergo marriage medical examinations or free pre-pregnancy check-ups, the community would make calls. By inputting detailed personal and family information into the system, you become a woman of childbearing age.
Many netizens expressed their outrage, “The same group of people who used to enforce the family planning policy are repeating their methods. They used to call and ask women to get contraceptive rings; otherwise, they wouldn’t register newborns.” “Is the community overstepping its boundaries?” “You forced people not to have babies, and now you’re pressuring them to have babies.” “The transformation of the family planning policy is the most fantastical thing in China in the past thirty to forty years.” “I am implementing the last generation.”
Some expressed worries, “The same department that sterilizes you is now calling to urge you to have a child. What does this mean?” “Does everyone still remember the things like family planning from the past? Forced abortions of pregnant women, does anyone still recall?”
Netizen “Ma Yuren” remarked, “It’s both magical and absurd. Back then, family planning was enforced rigorously, with meager incentives of just 5 or 10 yuan monthly for single-child parents. Now, to increase the birth rate, they rely on pressure and coercion.”
The Communist Party’s family planning policy over more than 30 years has had a devastating impact on the Chinese population. After relaxing the Two-Child Policy, the Communist authorities found that due to miscalculations in the birth rate over the years, the actual state of childbirth was far below and had lasted too long, prompting the immediate end of population control policies. The National Health and Family Planning Commission of China was directly dissolved in 2018, and the National Health Commission of China was officially established. However, various levels of family planning associations as group organizations were not disbanded.
In March 2023, the State Council’s Population Monitoring and Family Development Department was established. Population and family development departments have been set up nationwide, as well as maternal and child health and family development departments.
According to a report from Caixin on October 24, the phenomenon of grassroots inquiries into women’s fertility planning is part of the implementation of population dynamic monitoring and reproductive health services. With drastic changes in China’s population situation, the Central Committee and local governments have strengthened the management of the birth population and women of childbearing age in recent years, building a comprehensive population monitoring system.
Public information indicates that the Health Commission of Shandong Province formulated the “Shandong Province Basic Population Monitoring Statistics Service Management Opinions,” implemented in January 2021. The management includes using the Population Monitoring and Family Development Service Management Information System, establishing files for married and childbearing age couples, and conducting population dynamic monitoring.
A vice director of the Family Planning Office at a county-level city in Shandong Province introduced the specific procedures for community work to Caixin. When residents register their marriage at the Civil Affairs Bureau or give birth at a hospital, their information is fed back to the Street Family Planning Office. Subsequently, the street sends the information to various community family planning cadres, who then contact residents through phone calls and other means.
Through the aforementioned county-level city Health Bureau Family Development Department, Caixin learned that the department reports marriage, childbirth, and other demographic information on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. Currently, there is reportedly no specific pressure at the grassroots level to encourage childbirth.
This has shocked netizens, “Has urging births reached this level now?” “It seems that a large-scale stimulus for childbirth policy is in the pipeline. What is the significance of this networked management?”
People are concerned that forced measures may eventually be implemented, “As long as they pull out all the various measures from the family planning era and reverse them. With pressure from above, what can’t they do?””Is the same department that used to sterilize people and is now calling to urge childbirth, what does that mean?” “Remember the methods used during the family planning era, everything can be done in the reverse. If you don’t comply, the local police station immediately intervenes. If that doesn’t work, a group of tens, composed of party and government officials, will come to your door and take you away. China has never moved beyond this state.”
“Don’t think that this is the Communist Party’s last move. If it wants to act, more surprising things are yet to come; do not underestimate its evilness.”
Renowned rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng, in an interview with Dajiyuan, stated that China’s birth rate decline is happening rapidly, causing a disruption in the social ecosystem, for which the Communist Party hasn’t been held accountable or apologized. Currently, there is a very clear trend in the Communist Party to force people to have more children. They are changing the surrounding environment through various means, using a past set of family planning strategies in reverse.
He gave examples of how the Communist Party used to order hospitals and medical facilities; if a birth was performed without Family Planning Commission approval, it was considered illegal, and those departments would face consequences. Now, if you help someone abort without official approval or a medical necessity, it is deemed illegal. There are even rumors of confiscating assets from families with single children, which is a form of disguised robbery.
Regarding the Communist Party’s use of big data to monitor women of childbearing age, Chen Guangcheng believes that it is similar to its past population control measures but more automated now, making computer statistical analysis easier.
“Previously, they would compile data on all women of childbearing age, tracking when they got married, registered, when they had their first child, when they stopped using contraception, etc. So based on these statistics, they now require you to undergo check-ups every three months to see if you are pregnant. It’s just a reversal of what was done before. If a person goes out to work, they make you come back every three months for a check-up,” said Chen Guangcheng.
Initially, the Communist Party claimed that the responsibilities of the Family Planning Office were to promote family planning policies to the masses, distribute contraception on time, and conduct statistical work. However, it obscured the violence, bloodshed, and evil nature of the entity.
“They speak all the nice words but do all the bad deeds,” pointed out Chen Guangcheng, noting that it is not just a family planning committee issue; associated with it are local police stations. If the people do not comply, the local police immediately intervene, and if that doesn’t work, dozens of people, including party and government officials, will come to your door and take you away. China has never escaped such a state of affairs.
“Don’t think that this is the Communist Party’s final move; if it decides to act, even more jaw-dropping events are yet to come. Don’t underestimate its evilness.
Back then, the Communist Party used methods like stationing officers at homes and sending out hawks to mobilize ordinary people to send their children to the front lines.
For those who do not understand the Communist Party’s history, you cannot imagine its evilness. Therefore, it is essential to review what it has done in history. Under the current circumstances in China, anything absurd can happen,” he said.