Chinese city gives out lottery tickets to boost birth rates

Authorities in Xi’an, China, are rolling the dice on love with a jaw-dropping scheme aimed at tackling the nation’s plummeting birth rates.

In a bold move to combat China’s declining birth rates, the city of Xi’an is set to splash a whopping 700,000 yuan (equivalent to 3.6 million baht) on lottery tickets, all in the name of encouraging newlyweds to tie the knot. As the nation grapples with a sharp decline in childbirths for the second year running, and with marriage rates hitting an all-time low in 2022, local authorities are pulling out all the stops to reverse the trend.

Marriage and childbirth are intrinsically linked, with unmarried mothers often deprived of crucial child-raising benefits. Hence, Xi’an has unveiled a groundbreaking initiative: presenting a lottery ticket as a double surprise to any couple flaunting their marriage…