COVID-19: Fearing death, more young people in China pushed to write wills

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world as we know it. And with the second wave of coronavirus hitting various countries hard, people are living in uncertainty more than ever. 

A new report released by the China Will Registration Center says that fearing death more young Chinese people are preparing wills than ever before.

Citing the China Registration Center report, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that the pandemic has forced more young people to think about death and their assets. From 2019 to 2020, the number of will writers born after 1990 has grown 60 per cent, faster than in previous years, the report says.

Since August 2020, an increasing number of overseas Chinese people are consulting the centre in order to arrange their assets at home. The centre saw inquiries triple in a year.

Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that an 18-year-old student known as Xiaohong (a pseudonym) went to the Centre’s Shanghai branch to prepare a will that deals with 20,000 yuan (USD 3,000) in assets.The freshman said she is treating life more seriously from now on because "writing a will is not the end. It marks a new beginning”.

As per the report, more than 80 % of young people write a will to deal with savings, while at least 70 % deal with real estate as well. Some also deal with virtual assets such as social media accounts, reported SCMP.

A charity programme, the China Will Registration Center was founded in 2013 and it provides free will writing services to anyone above the age of 60.

Yang Yingyi, director of the China Will Organization in Guangdong, while speaking to the state broadcaster CCTV said that the pandemic prompted many young Chinese to ponder about death.

"During the pandemic, young people started to think more. They are wondering what would happen to their assets if they die and who would look after their parents and children," Yang said.

Xiaohu (pseudonym), a resident of Guangzhou in her late 20s, told CCTV that she felt "much safer" after writing a will. 

“I valued people and relationships more than assets and wanted to give back in the event of my death,” she said.

According to Chinese law anyone aged above 18 can write a will, while people from age 16 can if they have an independent income.

(With ANI inputs)