"Make Some Condoms Defective"... Hong Kong Real Estate Tycoon's Bizarre Plan to Address Low Birth Rates
Criticism mounts over Hong Kong property tycoon's column
The next day, he also calls for a tax on single people
Experts point to housing and child-rearing costs
The founder of a Hong Kong real estate group is facing criticism after proposing that a certain proportion of defective condoms be distributed as a measure to address the low birth rate.
"Contraception violates 'the way of heaven'..." He also calls for a tax on single people
According to Hong Kong media outlets, including Hong Kong 01, on October 15, Centaline Group founder Shih Wing-ching published a column in am730, the free newspaper he founded, on October 9. In the column, he claimed that "the emergence of condoms is a major cause of the decline in birth rates," adding, "The simplest and most effective method is to require condom companies to make a certain proportion of the products they put on the market defective." Founded in 1978, Centaline Group is a real estate brokerage conglomerate with more than 2,000 branches in over 30 cities, including Hong Kong and mainland China.
His proposal would have the government set the proportion of defective products at condom factories. Under his idea, if a woman became pregnant after using a condom with a hole in it, the government could adjust the proportion to manage birth rates by region. He also said that measures to address low birth rates should not be limited to financial support.
Underlying his argument is the view that contraception goes against "the way of heaven." Shih said, "People take only the reward of pleasure from sexual relations while avoiding responsibility, and do not fulfill the ultimate purpose of 'reproduction.'" He added, "Since condoms were invented, people have been able to avoid the responsibility that comes with sex for less than the price of a cup of coffee."
He acknowledged that the proposal could infringe on individuals' right to self-determination and provoke strong opposition. However, he said, "To avert the disaster of family lineages that have continued for generations coming to an end, a day may come when humanity is willing to resort even to such extreme measures that defy common sense."
Shih reiterated similar views the following day, October 10. He said, "The recent proposal in China to levy a 'single tax' on unmarried people, people who choose not to marry, and people who choose not to have children, and use the proceeds to fund childbirth, has some merit." He added, "People should be forced to pay until they have two children." In 2021, he also sparked controversy by arguing that "young people should be granted the legal right to purchase contraceptive products only after having two children."
Births fall below 30,000 for the first time... Experts point to housing and child-rearing costs
After the column was published, criticism mounted that it misidentified the causes of the low birth rate. One online user countered, "What discourages people from having children isn't condoms but high housing prices and cramped living spaces." The controversy also spread to mainland China. On October 11, the claim became a trending search term on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, prompting a wave of reactions calling it "absurd."
According to Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department, 29,700 babies were born in Hong Kong in the year from mid-2025 to mid-2026. This was the first time the number of births had fallen below 30,000 since records began in the 1960s. In terms of annual birth registrations, there were 31,714 in 2025, about half the 60,803 recorded 10 years earlier, in 2015.
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Experts attribute the low birth rate to housing and child-rearing burdens. Ye Zhaohui, a chair professor in the Department of Social Work and Social Administration at the University of Hong Kong, estimated that Hong Kong's total fertility rate last year—the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime—may have fallen to 0.75 or below. He said that "an emphasis on personal freedom, high child-rearing costs, cramped living conditions, and intense competition in education are reasons Hong Kong residents are reluctant to have children."
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