These topics were raised during a visit of Chinese researchers to Thailand during the meeting with Mr. Kosit Panpiemras, Chairman of Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer of Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited who is also Chairperson of the Sub-committee on Population Policy, Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) of the Royal Thai Government.
Led by Mr. Gong Sen, Deputy Director-General, Research Department of Social Development of the State Council of China, the Chinese delegation came to Thailand to collect evidences and practices regarding the population-related challenges. The Chinese visitors have met representatives from both the government and non-government sectors during the trip including the Population and Community Development Association, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, Office of the Civil Service Commission, the Ministry of Public Health, Chulalongkorn University, Mahidol University, Bureau of Empowerment for Older Persons and NESDB. The visit was sponsored by UNFPA's China and Thailand Country Offices.
During the meeting with Mr. Kosit, the Chinese and Thai counterparts exchanged views over the challenges that China and Thailand are facing regarding the changing demographic landscape in both countries.
Both countries are currently experiencing very low fertility rates and seeing this as a potential break on economic growth. The birth rate is related to the nation's production capacity because it will determine the size of the nation's labour force. The other important factor is the quality of the people.
In spite of the similar concern, there are some differences regarding the population in China and Thailand. With more than 1 billion people, China has one-child policy with choice driven family planning. There is a gender preference in China as traditionally Chinese parents wish to have sons. Thailand needs to boost birthrate and enhance the quality of life starting from birth to ensure the sustainability of the human resource capacity.
However, the policy planners sometimes find it difficult to draw the public attention to the implications from the population change. First of all, the word "family planning" often conjures up the perception of an attempt to control. This is despite the fact that it means whatever fits each individual family with the underlining issue of the quality of the people. The demographic issue has been perceived as a long-term issue because the impact from the demographic change will be felt in 10 or 20 years. But this long term issue needs an immediate action before the remedy is too late.
