Published by
The Bangkok Post
The Bangkok Post
An ageing population and low birth rate are twin social issues facing many nations. Japan leads the pack in this region. Others include South Korea, Singapore, China and Thailand. The case of China is puzzling. It went from imposing a draconian one-child-per-family policy in 1980 to allowing up to three children per family now. Why would a country with over a billion people want more? But then similar campaigns have been launched in other countries with the same problems. Thailand used to be the role model of the developing world in terms of birth control. Between 1969 and 1979, the fertility …