Member of the Legislative Council of the Election Committee, Kan Huimin, raised an oral question at the Legislative Council today (7th), saying that the fertility rate in Hong Kong is low, and asked what measures the authorities have taken to increase the fertility rate, and whether they plan to set up a high-level committee to study and update the population policy.
Sun Yuhan, Secretary of the Labor and Welfare Bureau, said that childbearing is an important family decision, which is affected by personal preferences, life styles and economic conditions. The government should not intervene too much. She also said that there is currently no plan to set up a committee on population policy.
He mentioned that the fertility rate has a lot to do with the new crown epidemic, and he expects it to rebound after the epidemic.
Hong Kong's fertility rate continues to decline.
(File photo/Photo by Lin Ruoqin)
Sun: Do not plan to set up a special committee and have tried every means to encourage births
Jian Huimin pointed out that late marriage and low birth rate in Hong Kong are serious, and the total fertility rate is only 0.77, that is, a woman of childbearing age has less than one child, which is among the lowest in the world.
Election Committee member Li Haoran also criticized the government for passively "waiting for delivery", believing that it is difficult to achieve the goals of the "Policy Address" according to the current practice.
He pointed out that the average age of first marriage of Hong Kong women has risen from 26.2 years in 1991 to 30.6 years in 2021, and the median age of first childbirth has also been postponed from 28.1 years to 32.6 years. He urged the government to conduct scientific research on this and prescribe the right medicine to solve the problem.
Sun Yuhan said that the government has always been proactive and implemented policies based on the principle of "results as the goal". It is also called whether to have children or not. It is a decision made by each family considering many factors. The low birth rate is not unique to Hong Kong. Countries such as South Korea are facing the same problem.
He pointed out that the low fertility rate has a lot to do with the new crown epidemic. Before the epidemic, the total fertility rate in Hong Kong was about 1, and it is expected that there will be a rebound after the epidemic.
He emphasized that the government will do everything possible to encourage childbearing, such as extending the statutory maternity leave for women to 14 weeks.
