The Chinese town suddenly "lost" 31% of the population: How scary the public caused the public to explode?

The authenticity of China's most recent national census (2020) is suspected by the public after the government of a town in Cat Lam province in the Northeastern region suddenly reported to the population decreased by 31., 44%.

The Chinese town "lost" more than 31% of the population

China's every 10 -year census shows that the fertility continues to decrease, while the population continues to age quickly.Photo: AP

On October 26, the town of Pingtai in Bach Thanh City, Cat Lam Province, officially announced: the population of the four villages of Yongle, Minsheng, Daling and Taifu in the town is only 1,195 people, down 31.44%Compared to the national census results published in May of 1,743 people.

After posting on social networks, the announcement of the Pingtai town government quickly exploded big doubts.According to many experts,If this census results are true, the population decline in China becomes even more alarming.

In a statement to smash rumors about the risk of a population decline, Beijing said that the population survey was conducted every 10 years, showing that the Chinese population was still increasing.According to the results of the census in 2020, the Chinese population was 1.41 billion people, an increase of about 72 million compared to 1.34 billion people of the 2010 Census investigation;But the 4 consecutive consecutive fertility, from 18 million in 2016 to 12 million in 2020.China, up from 8.9% of 2010.

Pingtai town government explained that the reason for this local population reduces shock is because they have to adjust the number of permanent residents to show more accurately the number of people who have been tested for Covid-19.They also said that residents in this area often move to other places to work, causing the population report to plummet.

However, these explanations have not convinced public opinion and experts.

Burning a lot of controversy

The Office of the China Institute's Office announced the results of the Census in 2020 in May 2021.Photo: Tan Hoa Xa

Yi Fuxian - Senior researcher and population expert at the University of Wisconsin -Madison (USA) - said:"People and officials need to pay proper attention to this incident".

According to him, in China, the goals for the Covid-19 vaccination and testing campaign are based on the 7th National Census (2020), so it requires high accuracy."But now, in a town in Cat Lam province, they have to report a 30% reduction of the population.", he said with anxiety.

"I really doubt that local officials have false reports about the population in the recent census.", this expert said.

At the end of April, the National Statistics Office of China also issued a statement to reject the report of the Financial Times that the population of the world's second largest economy decreased last year, marking a decline.For the first time since 1961.

"The population data of a country is very important because it helps to identify a series of public and tax expenditures, as well as the amount of money allocated to education, health care and poverty reduction, plusWith annual transfer payments from the central government ", Mr. Yi Fuxian - is also the author of the book about the issue of population aging "Big Country with a Empty Nest" - further judgment.

In fact, the decline in the risk of population is really causing Chinese officials to worry.Many investigations show that people in this country are tending to like to live single, do not want to get married and give birth.Even because of being too depressed with the present life, young Chinese people have pursued the trend of Tang Ping - that is, "lying still and ignoring life" - causing Chinese leadership to have a headache.

There have been controversy and speculation about the reason behind the change of Pingtai town, as well as asking if other places need to adjust the same.

"How can a small locality reduce more than 30% of the population in such a short period of time? Is this a special case or other places have the same problem?", a user asks questions on China's Weibo page.

Another wrote:"If the actual population decreases so, the number of civil servants and public spending must also be reduced as soon as possible."

However, there are people who think that residents may have left the town after the census.

According to the 7th National Census of Bach Thanh city, permanent residential demographics include people living in the town and having household registration here;people come from outside and live in towns for more than 6 months;people with household registration in the town but away for less than 6 months;Or those who are working and studying abroad.