Where There’s a Will

Young Chinese are breaking cultural taboos to make end-of-life decisions

This April， a Shanghai college freshman who identified herself as “Xiao Hong” made headlines by drafting a will at the China Will Registration Center （CWRC）， leaving over 20，000 RMB in savings to a friend who had supported her through a difficult time.

Within days， a hashtag related to Xiao Hongs will received over 200 million views and 10，000 comments on microblogging platform Weibo. Many netizens mistakenly thought Xiao Hong had developed a terminal illness， or opined that she was too young to make a will—its close association with death makes will-writing a taboo subject in Chinese culture.

However， the number of young Chinese who have made wills has multiplied over the last decade as attitudes change toward life and death. According to a white paper released this March by the CWRC， a state-supported institution that offers will-making services， the annual number of registered will-writers born after 1980 （“post-80s”） rose from 73 to 503 between 2017 and 2020， and will-makers born after 1990 （“post-90s”） rose from 55 to 209 （not counting those who make wills on their own， through a notary， or with the help of lawyers or other institutions）.

In general， younger generations have become more open to thinking and talking about death， with increasing awareness of the fragility and uncertainty of life. “In the face of great job pressures and social risks， young people with assets regard a will as a plan for their life，” observed Pang Huaxin， a director at the CWRC， in an interview with the Southern Weekly magazine in April.

On Q&A platform Zhihu， blogger Yuejian Muxians story about making her will has been applauded by hundreds of users. “Life is full of uncertainty， and [making a will] allows me to make advance arrangements for my property，” the 32-year-old tells TWOC. She first had the idea of will-making while in high school， after a tragedy in her family left her depressed for two years.

While the majority of the elderly write their will to avoid family disputes and simplify the inheritance of physical property and bank deposits， young people do so to prevent their estate from going astray， according to Pang. Post-80s and post-90s often list in their will “virtual assets” that their parents may not be aware of， including money stored in online payment services， or their social media and online gaming accounts.

Online payment platforms like Alipay allow heirs to reclaim the balance in the deceaseds account. In September 2020， Weibo announced it would set the accounts of deceased users into read-only status to protect their rights and privacy.

Will-making in China is seeing overall growth， due to an aging population and increasing awareness around end-of-life decisions. Chinas Civil Code， enacted this January， has also made will-making more convenient， as it gives legal recognition to virtual estates and accepts wills in five additional formats—oral， printed， hand-written， video， and audio—to be as valid as a notarized will.

However， according to the estimate of the CWRC， which keeps over 190，000 wills nationwide （mostly from people over 60）， less than 5 percent of Chinese have made a will， largely due to sustained cultural taboos.

Afraid of shocking her parents， Yuejian Muxian has not told them about her will. Instead， she emailed several friends to tell them where the will is kept， and has tried to “desensitize” her parents to the idea by commenting on news incidents related to end-of-life decisions. She even started her will with the line， “If I pass away， it will not have been due to suicide.” – Tan Yunfei （谭云飞）

Bloody Gamble

A courier truck discovered in Sichuan province carrying 160 crates of cats and dogs， many already sick or dead， has created heated backlash over the deadly trend of live animal “mystery boxes.”

Mystery or “blind” boxes are a growing industry where gifts （usually toys） are sold in unmarked boxes， with the buyer not knowing which item theyve bought until they open the container. Online animal mystery box vendors list prices as low as 9.9 RMB and use photos of expensive breeds of pets， luring potential buyers with the thrill of the gamble—and the potential of getting a coveted breed at a below-market price.

Mailing live animals violates the China Transport Act of 2005. Beijing lawyer Li Jun told tech and business website TMT Post that China should strengthen regulations and penalties for courier companies， since the government cannot check every private parcel. Netizens are also calling for e-commerce platforms to crack down on live animal vendors and for China to draft an animal protection law. – Yang Tingting （楊婷婷）

Demographic Change

Chinas mainland population has reached 1.412 billion， an annual growth rate of 5.38 percent since the previous census in 2010， according to the results of the seventh national census released on May 11.

The once-a-decade census has spurred widespread debate on Chinas demographic direction. The average number of persons per household fell below 3.0， which indicates the rising prevalence of single-person households across the country. The data also show the number of newborns fell to an all-time low of 12 million in 2020， a drop of 18 percent from the previous year and 33 percent from 2016， when the family planning policy was relaxed to allow urban couples to have a second child.

The results also show that men outnumber women by 34.9 million. “Does that mean 34.9 million men cant get married？” wondered one commenter on Weibo. – Y.T.

Bright project

Chinas Ministry of Education （MOE） is calling for schools to add more outdoor activities to their curriculum in an effort to stem the rising tide of myopia rates among minors.

According to the Ministry， over half of children and adolescents in China suffer from nearsightedness as of 2019—one of the highest myopia rates worldwide. Following the MOEs recommendation， a Xian primary school has introduced a “park lesson” period to its spring semester curriculum where teachers give lessons orally at a nearby park， to minimize students screen and reading time.

However， urban families living in areas with limited park space worry about how their schools can implement the project. “The outdoor space of the school is rather confined，” Wang Lin， a mother of a fourth grader in Shanghai， told news website Sixth Tone， “so students from different grades have to take turns to do activities here.” – Y.T.