“Two-child policy can be possibly implemented this year, if everything goes well”, CBN reported, citing an anonymous government source on Wednesday.
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China Daily China Daily Information Corp/ReutersA girl runs in front of an advertising board in TaizhouThe decades-old policy restricting many Chinese families to a single child may soon change.
The family planning policy was eased just over a year ago, allowing couples to have two children if either parent is an only child.
“The new ‘second child” policy, or “second child alone” refers to permission to have a second child if either parent of a family is from a single-child family.
The National Health and Family Planning Commission as well as other government agencies are discussing the feasibility of fully allowing for a second child in Chinese households.
The gradual adjustment reflects the dramatic change of China’s population structure. However, before the details of any new policy are officially released, couples who want a second child but are at present forbidden from having should remain patient.
“It’s not simply about implementing a second-child policy”, Lu was quoted as saying.
Mu Guangzong, a professor at Peking University’s Institute of Population Research, told the Global Times that “relaxing the current policy meets public expectations”.
The introduction of a nationwide two-child policy could, to a certain extent, help elevate the low fertility rate in China.
Moves to loosen strict birth control rules are a response to a demographic “time bomb” created by the one-child policy, which Beijing credits with preventing 400 million births.
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The proportion of mainlanders aged at least 60 is steadily climbing, rising from 13.3 per cent in 2010 to 15.5 per cent last year, reported Hong Kong newspaper the South China Morning Post.
