Recently, the news about the inheritance of a single woman in Beijing and an elderly lonely person in Shanghai being taken over by the government upon their death has sparked controversy. Following this, many young Chinese bloggers on the mainland have been circulating a joke about a lawyer warning young people that “if you remain single and childless, your inheritance will be confiscated.” In response, the young people sarcastically retorted, “This is the first time I’ve heard someone threaten me with something I don’t have. My only inheritance is my body, so take it if you want!” The related video has stirred up discussions online.
A Chinese blogger filmed a video saying, “The funniest joke of 2025 has emerged, with a lawyer enlightening the childless generation born in the 90s and 2000s: ‘Childless individuals in the 90s and 2000s, your assets will belong to the state in the absence of heirs in the future.'”
The blogger continued, “What would be the first reaction of the younger generation? Why do you think my assets won’t be spent?! If the wealth is inexhaustible, would I be willing to die for it? Rest assured, I will leave you with a huge debt, it would be a sign of conscience before I die. If I had an inheritance, could I remain childless and unmarried? This is the first time I’ve heard someone threaten me with something I don’t have. My only inheritance is my body, so take it, I was just worrying about where to bury it!”
A report from Dajiyuan found that on social media in mainland China, various young bloggers have posted similar videos, clearly intended for humor purposes.
Previously, on February 25th, the term “Beijing single woman who passed away property taken over by the state” surged to the top of Baidu’s hot search list. It was reported that in June 2022, a 41-year-old single woman named Zhao passed away due to illness, leaving behind a substantial inheritance. Zhao’s parents had already passed away before her, and she had no spouse, children, or siblings at the time of her death. Eventually, Zhao’s property was taken over by the state and managed by the Changping District Civil Affairs Bureau in Beijing.
Furthermore, after an elderly lonely person in Shanghai passed away three years ago, their considerable inheritance was also acquired by the government.
Qin Peng, host of “Qin Peng Observation,” expressed to NTD Television that these government officials may have privately distributed the inheritance of these lonely individuals. The regime is an illegal one, antagonizing the people and constantly seeking to profit from them.
The aforementioned young bloggers’ responses to the video regarding “not marrying and having children resulting in the confiscation of inheritance” were widely discussed after being reposted on an overseas social platform X. Netizens commented, “There are always countermeasures to policies,” “The successor with potential,” and “She said it lightly, but it’s actually very heavy. This country needs someone to come and save it!”
Some netizens remarked, “Hopefully, this is just a joke. I never support being unmarried and childless for the sake of resisting authoritarianism. The most despicable aspect of authoritarianism is disrupting people’s normal lives, and regardless of the choices made, they should be for a better life. Don’t give up life for the sake of opposing authoritarianism. Whether the authoritarian regime falls or not, we must strive to live well.”
Others commented, “The Communist Party is likely to introduce a policy next that requires being unmarried and childless, with compulsory participation in organ donation lists… Resist, take action, must we really wait until the knife is at our throat?”
China has been facing a population crisis in recent years, with an aging society approaching and a decline in young people’s desire to marry and have children. The Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Chinese Communist Party released statistics on February 8th this year, indicating that there were 6,106,000 newly registered marriages nationwide in 2024, a decrease of 20.5% from 2023 and hitting a new low in 45 years. Compared to the peak in 2013, it has dropped by more than half. While the number of marriages in China has plummeted, the number of divorces in 2024 increased to 2,621,000 pairs, a 1.1% rise.
Additionally, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China in January indicated that the birth rate in China in 2024 was 6.77‰, yet the natural population growth rate was -0.99‰, resulting in a continuous decrease in the total population for three consecutive years.
The Communist authorities have implemented various measures to encourage young people to marry and have children. However, due to government scrutiny and political repression, some individuals are contemplating leaving China; others have long considered resisting the Communist dictatorship by choosing not to have children or by embracing the “lying flat” movement.
In May 2022, when the Chinese Communist Party implemented extreme pandemic prevention measures, a video circulated online during the lockdown in Shanghai showing several epidemic prevention personnel threatening a young couple. The couple responded, “This is our last generation, thank you.” This response quickly resonated with Chinese netizens, who saw it as a reflection of contemporary Chinese people’s call to resist by not having children in the oppressive political environment.