HKFP reports…
The Hong Kong Women Development Association (HKWDA) said at a press conference on Monday that 98.7 per cent of respondents identified economic pressure as the biggest barrier to having children.
Meanwhile, 92.7 per cent mentioned housing problems as an obstacle, followed by a busy work schedule at 80.6 per cent.
The group said it surveyed a total of 2,413 people aged 19 to 49 between January 26 and February 23 this year.
The results showed that 33 per cent of those aged 30 to 39 wanted to have children – the highest share compared with other age groups. For the 19 to 29 and the 40 to 49 age groups, the figure was 16 per cent.
The Standard adds…
Housing remains a key concern. Although respondents viewed priority housing schemes for families with newborns as relatively effective, scoring 6.37 out of 10 for subsidized home ownership and 6.24 for public housing allocation, the association noted that such measures mainly benefit those eligible for subsidized schemes.
For many middle-class families struggling in the private housing market, the policies offer little direct relief, which may explain why housing continues to be cited as a major constraint.
Small surveys by NGOs are not always hyper-accurate, but this sounds broadly right. In my neighbourhood, more people have dogs than kids. Of around 15 people/couples in Hong Kong I think of as friends – none under 35 years of age – just three have children. And of course the government’s own stats show a birth rate of 0.73.
We all know that birth rates are now at similar levels in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, which also have high housing costs and/or nightmarish school systems. And they’re in the 1.1-0.8 range in countries like Spain and Italy. US conservatives recently expressed alarm at the country’s birth rate hitting around 1.0. But developing countries are going the same way. China of course has never recovered from the one-child policy. Thailand is now below one child per woman. And, amazingly, the Philippines’ fertility rate has dropped below the 2.1 replacement level to 1.7.
The HKWDA proposes lower salary taxes and cuts in home-purchase stamp duty for people with kids. These would yield trivial amounts of extra cash for most couples. If you offer every family with three kids a free 1,000-sq-ft apartment plus a domestic helper, you might see results. Otherwise, just live with the reality: women (in particular) want more from life than child-rearing, and we are entering an era of population decline.
From the (probably paywalled) WSJ…
China has helped Tehran endure years of U.S.-enforced isolation and has allowed it to sell oil and buy missile parts, drone components and other supplies to build up its military.
A significant part of that trade goes through Hong Kong. The city’s ease of setting up new companies and moving money has made it a global financial hub and a useful spot for evading sanctions.
A Treasury Department analysis found that entities in Hong Kong—most of them likely shell companies—transacted $4.8 billion in financial activity potentially related to Iranian shadow banking activity in 2024.
That was second only to the United Arab Emirates, which recorded $6.4 billion in transactions, almost entirely in Dubai. With the war in Iran raising new concerns about the security of Dubai, and the U.A.E. considering several options to crack down on Iranian shadow banking, more of this activity could shift to China.
Niao Collective presents an online collection of Hong Kong protest art.
I too was amazed when I read about that change in The Philippines – the speed with which they have gone from breeding like rabbits to less than replacement is extraordinary. It seems that there was a huge cultural shift 10-15 years ago where it suddenly became socially acceptable (or even desireable) for women to access contraceptives. Previously any woman doing so was instantly branded a whore.
Re Paul: Dear me, Honkies will have to look elsewhere for a steady supply of domestic helpers or the local birth rate will sink to single digit.
Filippinas are finally casting off the shackles of the Catholic clergy that defined their role. Next step will be to force their menfolk to shoulder their responsibilitites to provide for their families instead of living off the remittances of the ladies working overseas.
Never mind.
The Muslims are catching up.
The most popular registered first name for newborn boys in the UK is Mohammed.
PEACE BE WITH YOU.
[Editor’s note: Nearly all Muslim families name their first son Mohammed (variously spelt). It is probably the most common name in the world. If all Welsh families named their first son Bedwyr, that would be the number-one boy’s name in the UK.]