Morning bird: China instead of fining parents for having children, pays them. Zara banned from advertising with overly thin models
After years of strict fines and sterilizations, China wants to increase fertility
For decades, officials have been pushing couples to have fewer children through high fines, forced abortions, and sterilizations, only to now ask the current young generation to have more children. Last week, China announced that as part of the latest initiative to increase fertility, it will offer parents an annual subsidy of 3,600 yuan (approx. CZK 10,000) for each child up to three years old, retroactively effective from January 1.
The cost of raising a child to the age of 18 in China averages 538,000 yuan (1.5 million CZK), which is more than six times the GDP per capita, and according to a recent study by the Beijing-based YuWa Population Research Institute, China is thus one of the most expensive places in the world in this regard. In Shanghai, the costs climbed over 1 million yuan and in Beijing just behind it to 936,000 yuan, CNN reported.
Two advertisements of the fashion brand Zara were banned because they featured models who looked "unhealthily thin".
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) stated that shadows and a sleek hairstyle with a bun at the back caused one model to look "gaunt", while the pose and low-cut shirt in another shot showed the model's "protruding" collarbones.
The regulatory body decided that the "irresponsible" ads must not reappear in their current form and that Zara must ensure that all its shots were "responsibly prepared".
Zara company removed the advertisements and stated that both respective models had medical certificates, proving that they were in good health at the time the photos were taken.
