in 2014, celebrity film director jiangi moore was fined more than $1 million for having three childrenough these penalties no longer apply, china's rising cost of living remains a barrier for families. many are unable to afford having more than one child. increasingly, educated women are also putting off or foregoing having children altogether largely because of workplace discrimination. >> if the state really wants the birth rate, the crude birth rate, to increase, it has to produce more welfare. reporter: the government says it will delay the retirement age and offer support to families who have more children. but to avert a looming demographic crisis, some say it may be too little, too late. katrina yu, al jazeera, beijing. ♪ mohammed: alright, let's bring in our guests. in shanghai, dan wang, chief economist at hang seng bank china. in hong kong, stuart gietel-basten, professor of social science and public policy at the hong kong university of science and technology. and in washington, d.c., sophie richardson, china director at human rights watch. a warm welcome to you all. dan, le