Modern China Studies: Population and Development in China: A Revisit

Several new developments in the economy, government policy, and technology warrant a revisit on the population issue in China. First, in 2015 the Chinese government announced that it would allow couples to have two children. Second, anecdotal evidence suggests that many wealthy and middle-class Chinese are migrating from China to developed countries such as North America, Europe, and Australia. Third, the rapid development in medical sciences and artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing how the elderlies live and are cared for. All these changes call for a revisit on the issues of population in China. We need to carefully re-consider from scientific point of view the following questions: What are the population problems in contemporary China? Is population growth a problem? If it is, in terms of what--population size, birth rates, death rates, age composition (fraction of working age, working, elderly, retired, school age, military age, etc.), sex ratio (at birth), marital status, educational attainment, health, migrant origin, urban-rural, ethnic, reproductive health services, food, water and other critical inputs, waste removal capacity, general environmental situation, etc.? What is the impact of the new two-child policy? What is its effect on fertility rate? Is it effective in slowing down aging? Does it change people’s attitude toward having children? What is the impact of Chinese migration on China and the world? What is the magnitude of wealthy and middle-class Chinese migrating to the developed countries? What is the impact of such migration—economic, political, and cultural—on the home country and host country? How does the technological development impact aging in China? Specifically, how does the advancement in medical sciences affect aging in China? How does the development in artificial intelligence and the robot industry affect old age care in China? In sum, how do the above new issues affect the population issue in China, and what policies should we recommend to the government? To address these issues, we publish seven papers in this volume: New Emigration from China: Patterns, Causes and Impacts Regional Determinants of Residential Intention of Migrants in China: Evidence from the Chinese National Migrants Dynamic Monitoring Survey in 2015 Exit and Voice: Mainland China’s Talent Policy and Taiwan’s Weak Response during the Ma Administration Can One-way permit system alleviate labor shortage in Hong Kong? The Family Structure and Family Development Ability in China: Based on the China Family Panel Studies A Study on the Changing Trend of Health Indicators of the Elderly in Mainland China: 1998-2014 Fertility Intention among Tibetan Women in Lhasa