For years, communist China has implemented the Draconian one-child policy. Now, the government is starting to reverse its adverse effects and suggesting new, unconventional ways to encourage its citizens to have children.

An economics professor at Fudan University in Shanghai suggested that the best way to have a population boost is to allow the practice of polyandry- or having multiple partners. This was a way to counterbalance the long-term effects of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) strict population control measures.

Professor Yew-Kwang Ng, who came from Malaysia, believed that the best way to increase the nation’s birth rate is by allowing women to have multiple husbands. He explained that initially, “They’ve told couples that it’s their patriotic duty to have two babies. They’ve dangled tax breaks and housing subsidies. They’ve offered to make education cheaper and parental leave longer.” Ng also cited that the communist regime “tried to make it more difficult to get an abortion or a divorce. None of this has worked.”

The economics professor published an article in the Washington Post entitled, “Is polyandry really a ridiculous idea?”. To point this out, China faces a huge gender disparity. That’s because, in Chinese culture, most parents preferred having a son, and in the face of counter population measures, parents deliberately commit female infanticide, in favor of a male heir. Today, China has 34 million more men than women. The years of careful gender selection led the country into a massive gender imbalance, as men outnumber women. Ng concluded that “I’m not advocating for polyandry, I’m just suggesting that we should consider the option in the face of an imbalanced gender ratio.” He continued to say that if two men are willing to share one woman, and the woman consents to the same agreement, “what reason does society have to stop them sharing a wife?”

Ng added that he does not have any plans to deny couples the “advantages of monogamy” but out of desperation to address the increasing “sex-ratio” by allowing its citizens to legally practice polyandry. He even went on to introduce the ridiculous idea of comparing marriage to prostitution. Ng explained that if female prostitutes can serve up to “more than ten clients” in a single night, then women should have no problem preparing meals for two or three husbands.

This is not the first time that Ng had made ridiculous suggestions. In another op-ed column on June 2, the Shanghai professor believed that “men’s tendency to cheat in marriage can never be eliminated,” thus he does not see the point in monogamy.

He went on to cite that since the increasing gender disparity in China prevented men from achieving “sexual satisfaction,” Ng believed the government should encourage more brothels to help men satisfy their “needs.” He justified that the CCP would be violating men’s insatiable sexual needs if they would refuse to operate legal sex work.

However, removing the one-child policy did little to encourage reproduction among Chinese citizens due to increasing cultural shifts. Today, more women are having careers of their own. While its population had become the key to its economic success, the communist regime feared that the gender disparity might come in the way of the nation’s growth.