China’s New Condom Tax: A Dangerous Gamble with Public Health and Population Policy

China has announced a value-added tax (VAT) of 13% on contraceptive drugs and products starting January 1, ending more than three decades of tax exemption. At first glance, this may seem like a trivial fiscal adjustment, but beneath the surface lies a troubling move by Beijing that risks exacerbating public health problems and highlights the failures of centralized population control. Is Beijing Sacrificing Public Health for Population Targets? The Communist Party once relied on draconian policies—forced abortions, heavy fines, and denial of citizenship rights—to strictly limit family size under its notorious one-child rule. That era ended in 2015 when the...