China’s one-child policy reversal cautiously welcomed
On Thursday (October 29), the Chinese government said it was relaxing the rules to allow all couples to have two children. According to China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission, 90 million couples would thus be eligible for the new two-child policy.
Inside the Great Hall of the People, where the National People’s Congress – or the Chinese government – hold its meetings
The decision was made because of the country’s rapidly ageing population and to help support the economy. But the Chinese commission did not say when the policy would be implemented. Currently, families who want a second child will still have to apply for approval - but officials are working towards replacing the approvals system with a registration system.
A government sign in Tangshan Township: "For a prosperous, powerful nation and a happy family, please practice family planning."
The commission also said it would look into boosting medical care for pregnant women and mothers, as it expects more older women to conceive after the policy change. It noted that about 60% of women who can have a second child are currently above the age of 35.
Chinese poster in 1982, at the beginning of Chinese economic reforms, depicting a happy family with one child in a modern environment
China has long said limiting families to one child was necessary to facilitate economic progress. Its controversial one-child policy was introduced nationally in 1979 to slow the population growth rate, and is estimated to have prevented about 400 million births. Though there were exceptions to the policy, most couples who violated it faced punishment, from fines and the loss of employment to forced abortions.
A roadside sign in rural Sichuan: "It is forbidden to discriminate against, mistreat or abandon baby girls."
Some experts have said the change to allow two children will take some time to alleviate the problem of an ageing population. Previous loosening of the rules have led to fewer extra births than expected, partly because of the cost of raising a child.
A Chinese family with one child having a little picnic at Beihai Park in Beijing
Said a Chinese sociologist,
"Couples born in the 1970s may want to have a second child as they want to 'catch the last bus,' but those born in the 1980s and 1990s have no urgent desire to give birth to a second child.”
(All images - credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence)
