China’s Generation of Demise Why China’s shrinking population both reflects—and portends—far deeper problems. BY RICHARD VAGUE Democracy, January 18, 2023 On January 17, the National Bureau of Statistics announced that in 2022 China’s total population fell by 850,000 to 1.41 billion, its first such decline in 60 years. This is no surprise to those who have been paying attention, since its popula..