Headline : Weibo Users Discern Pro-natalist Propaganda in Sina “DINKs” Article

Read more from the original article on here at chinadigitaltimes.net.

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On April 14, Sina News Hot Topics published a lengthy article on Weibo under the clickbait headline “The First Batch of DINKs, Exposed: Where Are They Now, and Do They All Regret Not Having Kids?” The four-part article focused on ostensible profiles of DINK (“double income, no kids”) couples, most of whom were portrayed as either lonely, estranged, divorced, bitter, or regretful that they had never had children. Some of those profiled said that they had changed their minds and decided to have kids after all. Although the article purported to present both sides of the issue, both the language and content were strongly biased in favor of childbearing, as evidenced by this passage toward the end of the article: “Essentially, DINKs are gambling on the future—gambling that you can stick to your original intention, gambling that you can trust your spouse, and more importantly, gambling on the complex vagaries of human nature. Whether they choose a house filled with children and grandchildren, or a cloistered and childless life, people must eventually learn how to plan for themselves and their future.”

The article included a list of permutations of the Chinese term for “DINK” (丁克, dīngkè) to describe different types of DINKs:

Sina News Hot Topics also launched a Weibo hashtag with the same title as the article, which sparked heated discussion and rocketed to the top of Weibo’s hot search list. But a large number of Weibo users expressed suspicions that the article and associated hashtag represented a thinly veiled attempt to discredit DINKs and spread pro-natalist propaganda. Many such critical and questioning comments by Weibo users were subsequently deleted. CDT Chinese editors archived some of these comments, a selection of which are translated below, before they were censored. Links have been added for context.

The Chinese government’s concerns about recent demographic trends—falling birth rates and a declining population—have fueled crackdowns on feminists and LGBTQ+ communities in China, and resulted in an uptick in incentives and propaganda intended to promote childbirth, but these have not resonated with many women and younger people. (For a deeper dive into how recent demographic, socioeconomic, and political changes have affected the rights and status of women in China, see CDT’s December 2023 interview with Leta Hong Fincher.) The phrase “Four Won’t Youth” (四不青年, sì bù qīngnián)—which describes young people who refuse to date, marry, buy a home, or have kids—reflects the profound social, economic, and political shifts underlying the decision not to pursue activities that were once considered prerequisites for adulthood. “Four Won’t Youth,” like other related terms (last generation, lying down, involution, Kong Yiji—all explained in more detail in our recent CDT Lexicon ebook), make the Party-state extremely nervous. A document thought to be from the Guangzhou branch of the Communist Youth League went so far as to call for an effort to transform these young people into “Four Will Youth”: willing to go out on dates, get hitched, purchase real estate, and procreate.

Read more from the original article on here at chinadigitaltimes.net.

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