Monthly Archives: March 2024

China’s birth rate declines, resulting in closure of 20,000+ kindergartens.

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WRIC Integrated Report                               03-25-2024

 

 

The number of kindergartens in China has decreased by 20,400 over the past two years, with a staggering 14,800 kindergartens closed in 2023 alone. With the further decline in the annual birth rate, the closures of kindergartens are expected to continue, posing ongoing enrollment challenges.

 

According to data cited by China’s First Financial from the Ministry of Education, in 2022, there were a total of 289,200 kindergartens nationwide, a decrease of 5,610 from 2021. By 2023, the number further decreased to 274,400.

 

In 2020, the total number of children enrolled in kindergartens nationwide was 48.183 million. In 2021, the number decreased to 48.052 million, a decrease of 131,000 from the previous year. In 2022, the number of children in kindergartens further decreased to 46.275 million, a decrease of 1.777 million from the previous year. In 2023, the number of children continued to decline for the third consecutive year, reaching 40.93 million, a decrease of 5.345 million from the previous year.

 

 

In a mountain village in Bijie County, Guizhou Province, China, when the one-child policy was enforced, all the young men went to the city to work, and most of the people left in the village were the elderly and women.    （Photo taken by WRIC on March 15, 2013）

 

 

The decline in birth rates has led to a sharp decrease in the number of children eligible for kindergarten enrollment, which in turn has resulted in the closure of kindergartens. After China implemented the “comprehensive two-child policy” in 2015, there was a brief surge in childbirth. The number of births exceeded 17 million in both 2016 and 2017, reaching 18.83 million in 2016.

 

However, by 2018, the effects of the two-child policy began to weaken, with the number of births dropping to 15.23 million that year, 14.65 million in 2019, 12 million in 2020, and only 9.02 million last year.

 

The decrease in the number of children in kindergartens is expected to gradually affect primary schools, middle schools, high schools, and universities. Qiao Jinzhong, associate professor at the Institute of Education Research of Beijing Normal University, pointed out that according to their team’s model predictions, by 2035, the demand for primary and middle schools nationwide will be 92,800 and 47,900 respectively, a decrease of 51,400 and 3,800 from 2020. Among them, the negative population growth will have a greater impact on primary schools than on middle schools.

 

Qiao Jinzhong also stated that according to the current student-teacher ratio standards, by 2035, there will be approximately 1.5 million primary school teachers nationwide, but there will be 370,000 surplus middle school teachers. There will be a greater surplus in the demand for primary school teachers, while the shortage of middle school teachers will occur first and then become surplus.

 

International Women’s Day: Supporting Human’s Rights Activists Detained by the CCP

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WRIC News                                             03-08-2024

 

 

“March is a special month for women, and the 8th is International Women’s Day, which is also American Women’s Heritage Month. Women’s Rights in China, an NGO based in New York, will hold an event to support women and children who have been tortured in Chinese prisons and mental hospitals. Like-minded friends are welcome to join.”

 

Date:

March 10 (Sunday) at 2:00 pm

 

Location:

After gathering at Main Street and Kissena Blvd in Flushing, New York, take the subway and walk to the Chinese Consulate in New York.

 

 

   

 

Chinese police departments often use the excuse of ‘psychiatric patient’ to detain individuals without trial. Simply petitioning, questioning, or protesting against the political system or social injustice can lead to being labeled ‘mentally ill’ and subjected to forced detention. Detention locations have expanded beyond traditional centers to include mental hospitals, clinics, and education camps at all levels, without any time limits.

 

A notable case involves rights activist He Fangmei, the founder of the ‘Vaccine Babies’ organization, along with her wife and three young children, who have been detained in mental hospitals by the government for extended periods.

 

In October 2020, He Fangmei took her 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter to protest in front of the Huixian County Government in Henan Province, but all three were sent to a psychiatric hospital for detention. At this time, He Fangmei was five months pregnant. In the same month, her husband Li Xin, who defended her rights with his wife, was sentenced to five years in prison in another detention center for “criminal crime.”

 

In 2021, He Fangmei was forced to give birth to a daughter in Henan Gongji Psychiatric Hospital.

 

A year later, she was transferred to another detention center separately. There is no definite news about her so far. The three children remain incarcerated in a mental hospital. Their 10-year-old son was detained for about three years before being sent to a family for foster care. Currently, the two younger sisters are still detained in a mental hospital. Their poor daughter was born and raised in a psychiatric hospital. She has never felt the world outside the hospital until now.

 

It is understood that He Fangmei’s daughter was sexually assaulted in the Henan Gongji Psychiatric Hospital where she was mixed with adult male patients, and relevant personnel threatened those who knew about it “not to tell the truth.”

 

 

 

 

 

We strongly question that one of the main reasons why the hospital does not let the girls go back to live with relatives, friends or foster families is that the hospital wants to seal the children’s mouths and prevent them from telling the whole truth to the outside world, not to mention that they do not want the young girls to receive timely and independent medical treatment. Check the opportunity.

 

Undoubtedly, what happened to He Meifang’s family is not an isolated incident in China, and sadly, it may not be the last. Non-profit organizations and scholars have extensively documented such cases through reports and data. By standing in solidarity with women and children who have endured inhumane treatment by the Chinese government, we are safeguarding our fundamental rights from future violations. We urge you to join us in advocating for justice, human rights, and freedom. Together, let’s speak out against injustice and make a difference.

 

 

 

 

 

Our demands are clear:

Human rights must be protected!

Everyone deserves to live with dignity!

Society must be fair and just!

The system needs democracy!

Free all activist women!

Free all dissidents!

 

We protest:

Illegal arrests!

Forced detention in mental hospitals!

The inhumane detention of children!

 

To our sisters in prison, your sacrifice will never be forgotten.

We will always stand with you!