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Alexander F. Yuan/AP
Parents play with their children at a kid's play area in a shopping mall in Beijing on Jan. 10.
BEIJING — China has quelled speculation its controversial "one-child" policy is to be scrapped, instead announcing Wednesday that family planning laws to curb the birth rate will remain.
"The policy should be a long-term one and its primary goal is to keep a low birthrate," Wang Xia, minister in charge of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, said.
The pronouncement comes after months of speculation that the decades-old restriction would be abandoned.
In October, a Chinese government think tank urged the policy be relaxed to allow two children for every family in the country by 2015.
"I’m surprised," said Professor Shaun Breslin, associate fellow at U.K. think tank, Chatham House. "Almost everything we had heard in recent months pointed towards a relaxation of one-child."
The 1979 law prohibits about one-third of China’s 1.3 billion citizens from having a second child. The policy is officially backed up by fines, but campaigners say more than one million forced abortions are carried out every year.
It has slowed the spectacular growth of the country’s population, preventing an estimated 400 million births over three decades.
In a related statement on Wednesday, the family planning commission said China’s current low birthrate "is not stable because, with the exception of some developed cities, the fertility level in most of China's regions will rise if the basic state policy of family planning is abolished."
"Therefore it is necessary to stick to the basic state policy of family planning to stabilize the current low fertility level," it added.
Breslin said China’s looming demographic crisis — a huge elderly population supported by a relatively tiny younger generation — highlighted social problems such as the need for greater universal healthcare.
"For most Chinese people the current system works fine if you have a sore throat, but a knee operation could use up all your savings," he said. "That means many are keen to ensure they have a male child in order to ensure there is enough income in the family."
He added that Wednesday’s announcement did not mean China’s new leadership was eschewing economic or social reforms. "It can take a year or two for any new leadership in China to introduce change," he said.
Professor Hu Xingdou, of the Beijing Institute of Technology, told the South China Morning Post it would be difficult for the government to abolish the one-child policy overnight.
"China still needs a family-planning policy due to our vast population and lack of cropland, as well as the relative deficiency of per capita resources,” he said.
The one-child rule is mainly enforced in urban areas.
Wang also announced an expansion of rural healthcare provision for pregnant women, and said efforts "should also be made to rectify the imbalance in gender ratio."
She also said a "complete working system" would be established to "in light of the great numbers of young migrant workers flocking to the cities for jobs."
Related stories:
Chinese say one child is enough as Beijing weighs end of policy
Growing calls in China to change the one-child policy
Not Chinese enough in China? Americans' dilemma
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The issues of gender imbalance and a relatively smaller contributing generation supporting a large aging population will be huge factors in China's economic future. China may very well collapse under it's own policies. Or option B, Import Koreans who will be attracted to low cost fashion brand names, and find a recipe for Soylent Green.
Benet, the problem with your suggestion is that many of China's neighbors have worse gender imbalances than China does. South Koreans 15-65 are roughly are 1.1 males to 1.0 females, versus 1.06 males to 1.0 females in China (at birth, the two countries have roughly the same ratio, though). Hong Kong is 1.07, Japan is 1.06, Vietnam 1.12. India is a horrific 1.15. Taiwan alone seems to have achieved a balance.. although the fact that it has one of the world's lowest birth rates.. far lower than China's, means it probably doesn't matter that it has. Elective abortion based on gender (and probably outright gendercide in India) is issue all over Asia.
Jeez...well never mind then. Do you have any idea what the trending line would be for when they see a reduction that takes them below western countries? 2040 maybe?
Wonderful. So more female children up for adoption and more americans adopting them, less females in china. So are you trying to create an all male country? Because that wont work.
1 million forced abortions per year? As Andrew Dice Clay once said, "stick a piece of gum on it"
I do believe that government help of any kind should stop at two children. Have more but expect no help from any gov. program.
I say it should stop after zero kids. Pay for your own damn kids. If you're too poor to afford to have them, too bad I guess you don't deserve the chance to pass your failed genes on.
Harsh, but fair I guess.
Well, that's great except birth control and abortions are not generally covered by insurance or Medicaid. So I guess you are ready to take in some of these children, right?
As a nation of over one billion inhabitants, limiting the number of children per family seems to be a good policy but only time will validate it. I see as a positive part of it that the government does not make differences between poor and rich families, all families are to have only one child regardless of income. I wonder what families do about making sure to have only one child...because I dont think they follow the withdrawl method
They do whatever it takes.
I'm suggesting mandatory tube tying for everyone. If resources are limited then do the females as they are the ones who actually deliver a child into the world. That is just the simple biological fact of the matter even though it is much easier to tie the male tubes. The Planned Parenthood clinic in Hayward California tied my tubes for $50 back in 1973. It was a simple office procedure that took about 15 minutes. After 29 ejaculations I was instructed to take a sample to a lab to verify that my system was clear of sperm. Another test a year later was done to verify that the tubes didn't somehow grow back together. On July 4th, 1974 I had my one and only one night stand without fear of making the woman pregnant. But you still need to consider STDs. So after I got out of the service I decided to get a blood test. No problem. I dodged the STD bullet. I've just stuck with masturbation since then and prior to that single one night stand. I'm not bragging or complaining but simply stating a fact. Yes, I enjoy masturbating. I was raised Catholic and feel the Pope should not make this a sin. I'd like to see the Pope advocate masturbating along with tube tying and a one cihild rule as a means toward achieving a sustainable population of less than 2 billion people. Then we could allow a 2 child limit. Aren't we smarter than cats and dogs? It's not that I actually care what the Pope thinks, but a lot of people do.
China... a country with no real value for human life... countless baby girls abandoned and aborted... in hopes of a male child... setting themselves up for disaster... very, very sad!
I'm generally not too supportive of the one child policy, but you have to look at it from a Chinese perspective. The average Chinese person looks forward to achieving Western standards of living, which is within reach if not yet actually attained for hundreds of millions. But it's a short glance back for that same person to, say, India - with its radical over-population, resource depletion and widespread misery. Most people in China still remember when their country was the same way - when their own lives were that way - and they want to make darn sure they don't go back that type of poverty. Until they feel comfortable and secure that they aren't going to fall back to where they've only recently come from, they will keep on trying to control their population. Who can blame them?
The one child policy is one of China's better ideas. Our world needs less people to continue to support itself. If humanity continues to multiply like flies we will pollute ourselves off the planet. Hopefully we in the USA will evendually recommend a similar policy.
This article isn't reporting the entire truth. China has a one child policy but if you are an only child you can have a second child and since there are a lot of couples who are only children...there are lots of people can have 2 kids.
Also...the penalties for having a second child are exaggerated in this article. It's a simple tax...really not as big a deal as this article is trying to proclaim...I'm not surprised because this is something that the American media loves to pounce on every time they they want to pick on China about something. China has it's issues but they aren't nearly as bad as the American media likes to proclaim. And when you go to China you don't see major media reports about something "bad" in America. I think NBC should be spending its resources on actual news and not some exaggeration of the truth.
NBC SUCKS.
the problem is not only in China , the continued rise in world population will continue to put stress on our natural resources and other species that share this home with us..
China- the only country on planet Earth that has this sensible policy and sticks with it. At the end of WWII, the world's population was between 1.5 and 2 billion people. It is estimated that by 2050, the population will be 9 billion people. Good luck to us.
The problem is,,,,,,,,,,, when intelligent/educated countries slow down the countries with the most backwards people keep breeding and we are left with masses of ignorant, blood thirsty terrorists.
Maybe the U N should try to make uniform population control guidelines.(Voluntary)Tie aid to compliance.
2 kids per male adult.
Wouldn't it make more sense to say 2 kids per female adult. Mama's baby, daddy's maybe.
If China needs workers in the future they can have the illegals from the US, and they can have the persons here in the US that have been collecting unemployment for the last 3 years.
Should be practiced world wide regarless of financial staus, people are living much longer due to medical advances (I have a medical problem and could die any time and don't have a problem if it's my time to go) etc. The earth can only substain so much and there are only so many ways to create jobs. The more people, the more poverty, joblessness and crime. Only one may be extreme but there are too many damn people period.
Excellent......and We need to follow in China's footsteps. There's way too many people in this country havin' kids they can't afford to support.....and their plan all along was to let the gobment pay for em'.....welfare, what a joke.....that's my money dude....my taxes. Oh, and many of these people don't pay any taxes either. We've been payin' dimwits to make moe dimwits for waaaaaaaa tooooooooo loooooooong.
Wow, Li you wrote absolutely nothing about all the exceptions that allow 2nd child. This is a piece of total propaganda if you ask me.
WE Should limit welfare moms in this country to 1 child too or be made sterile !!!!!!!
Yes, and the dead beat fathers of all of these children should be castrated. *eyeroll*
I think that not enough young people to support the elderly isn't so bad if the alternative is a scene from Soylent Green
One child policy is only for the non Han chinese so that they can take over the world !>= )
We should do it here for those living off the government.... at least it would slow the generational welfare growth....
This country is broken...
I think it was on Earth Day of 2009 ( maybe 2007...) that PBS aired a really interesting documentary hosted by naturalist David Attenborough. You Can find it on YouTube. SEARCH: 'How Many People Can Live On Planet Earth'...........You probably don't have time to watch now, but PLEASE......go look it up and either email it to yourself...or 'share' it to your Facebook page....for later viewing. Some scary stuff is upon our doorstep ( trying to feed 7 billion of us 'worldwide' ) in the very near future. I've seen this thing probably over 20 times already.....and will go there & watch it again now I think.
Another thing to consider......At the same time the world's population is increasing, the unemployment rate is accelerating. Out of natural tendency of corporations to want to control their costs......and over time....through the development of new technology & manufacturing processes, businesses & companies of all sizes DON'T need as many employees as they once did....to run an efficient operation. I worked for a major 'Blue Chip' corporation in a factory in northern Calif. for just over 23 years. They closed our plant in 2009 to move our particular product line overseas....( closer to our biggest customers, which saved on shipping costs ) We had about 125 employees when I began in 1986. We reached about 135 by the mid-90s....but after that.....as folks would 'retire', they weren't replaced. Temps were brought in if we got super busy, but for the most part, with the new equipment & streamlined processes....one person could now easily do what it may have taken 2-3 folks to do, only a decade earlier. And that was just our one little plant. Multiply that out around the world.
The pro-lifers should head over there and demonstrate their rants!!!
Good for China.
Now if my own country could face the truth and start a dialogue on our own population issues.
I sure do hate traffic congestion and I would WAY rather my 2 kids live in a world with wolves and tigers and sharks (even if they never see them in the wild...the world is grander just knowing they are there) then ever meet anyone's 3rd, 4th, or 5th kid. (as special and wonderous as those kiddos may be)
I'm not a big China fan, after-all what can you say about a country that eats dogs and cats? But I completely agree with their birth control agenda. In fact it should be adopted planet wide! After all, the majority of the problems on this planet are due to the out of control human population.
As for that elderly people to support bs, the human population will always be "top-heavy" unless society allows old people to die instead of keeping them alive via artificial means. And no, I'm not a proponent of "Logan's Run" (1976 movie)!
A few well placed MIRVs will solve this overpopulation problem quickly.
The RED CHINESE are building sixty attack subs that have but one purpose... to kill a BOOMER in the pacific.
Now is the time it will spin away and we will regret not having eliminated the threat to the planet.
If we could only do that HERE with all the ILLEGALS! I'm tired of stepping on 4 'La cucerachas' per adult in MY country!!
maxpain07
What if the family has enough money to become a birther in other countries? they can say that their baby is not Chinese citizen.
No, that won't work. That loophole has been closed. Still counts as one child.