There is some speculation on various websites, as well as Twitter, that the Corona virus may have been deliberately released to reduce the number of older people in China.
Supposed evidence includes the fact that China was trying to build one or more massive crematoriums right before the virus hit, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3040009/protesters-and-police-clash-southern-china-over-plans and also that Wuhan, where the virus originated, is the location of China's only level four bio research lab, which studies dangerous viruses.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/04/c_136872077.htm
The virus mainly spares children and is more severe in older people.
Whether or not that 'conspiracy theory' is true, and it seems unlikely that a country would do that, the problem of aging populations is severe in many countries.
China does have a lot of older people and a shortage of young people. So do Japan, Korea and many other countries.
This is another reason to encourage AI based digital currency networks as fast as possible.
These networks will rely on people with some education or experience, in any scientific field as well as general 'life experience'. It's one of the few economies that will favor the work of older people. So countries that are economically 'burdened' by older people now will benefit from aged populations once the economy shifts.
Young and old people will have their place in this economy, but the nature of AI is that it requires experience with patterns and other things that generally develop with age.
If it does turn out that China's government has been deliberately killing its own citizens, something the United States government has also done in the past then the urgency of switching to productive algorithm digital currencies that develop AI through taskwork should be considered urgent.
The main benefit of these networks will be the rapid development of sciences, including those needed to fight scientific urgencies like climate change, but the favoring of older people, based simply on their experience, is another important element.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/04/c_136872077.htm
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unethical_human_experimentation_in_the_United_States
~In Progress