Language matters in Hong Kong’s birth rate debate, not just money

South China Morning Post17 October 2026, 08:30 UTCHong Kong

When Hong Kong debates how to raise its birth rate, the conversation usually revolves around money: bigger baby bonuses, tax concessions, housing support, cheaper childcare and so on. These economic measures are necessary. Lowering the cost of raising a child removes some real and immediate barriers. However, there is another, lesser-known factor that works more subtly and implicitly. It comes not from economics but from the structure of the language or languages we speak each day. Consider a...

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