BEIJING (Reuters) – Beijing’s beach-obsessed golden retriever, whose swimming antics brought him fame online, has now become a symbol of the unintended consequences of China’s one-child policy introduced in the late 1970s to curb population growth. The dog, whose name is “Thought,” is owned by a couple who decided not to have children so they could afford an apartment and two dogs. Their choice mirrors the trend across China’s major cities, where rising costs have discouraged many from having children.
Many millennials, like Thought’s owners, now delay marriage and children for other pursuits, including pets and travel, a phenomenon that has dragged down birth rates and made Thought something of a poster child for China’s growing pet economy. Beijing has allowed couples to have two children since 2016 in response to concerns about an aging population, but the change has yet to significantly reverse the falling birth rate. .
Thought Pays Beijing Dog Owners Not to Have Kids, So Life’s a Beach
