The Communist Party (CCP) continues to fight against China"s demographic challenges, caused not least by the country"s past one-child-policy (1979 - 2015). None of the options available look simple. World Watch Research analyst Thomas Muller comments: "The population decline is coming faster than forecasted and it is quite likely that population numbers will peak in 2022, and not in 2030, as previously predicted (Foreign Affairs, 3 May 2022). It is only a coincidence that this development comes at a time when the CCP is preparing for its 20^th Party Congress in the second half of 2022, but is nonetheless embarrassing as it shows the limits of social engineering. It is easier to restrict the number of births than to increase it, no matter what financial incentives the state provides. Additionally, against all world trends, the number of births out of wedlock are comparatively low in China (due to the fact that pregnancies out of wedlock are generally not socially acceptable). Another difficult question for the social engineering experts is how best to raise China"s early retirement age (Quartz, 22 April 2022). Even if the CCP takes the risk of having to cope with a discontent workforce facing an increased retirement age, this will have other consequences as well. Millions of young adults, for instance, have now finished their college studies and face increasingly gloomy job prospects. A record number of 10.76 million graduates entered the job market, an increase of 1.76 million year-on-year. And while the number of job-offers for graduates increased by 8%, the number of applications increased by 75% (Sup China, 4 May 2022). As a result, many are deciding to take entrance exams for access to state employment." Thomas Muller continues: "While this demographic conundrum has been in the making for quite some while and could thus qualify as a "˜gray rhino" event (i.e. a foreseeable event not tackled due to complacency or other factors), the COVID-19 pandemic and the CCP"s zero tolerance approach is a "˜black swan", an unforeseen event. It is not only taking its toll on the economy and society in general, it has also stretched the country"s online censorship to its limits; a video entitled "Voices of April" (purporting to show the reality of daily life in locked-down Shanghai) keeps appearing in the Internet in multiple versions, defying all efforts by state censors to contain its spread (CNN, 25 April 2022). At the same time, it should be noted that most of the residents" anger and complaints in the video target local administrative workers and CCP members, not the central government. Still, the latter seems to be taking steps to nip any unrest in the bud: In a recent meeting of the Polit Bureau Standing Committee, President Xi Jinping called on all levels of government to "˜unswervingly adhere to the general policy of dynamic zero Covid", a move which is seen by analysts as indicating internal pushback within the CCP (CNN, 6 May 2022)."