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Shanghai backs 'two-child policy' Shanghai encourages second child
(40 minutes later)
The government in the Chinese city of Shanghai is to encourage some parents to have a second child. Officials in Shanghai are urging parents to have a second child, the first time in decades the government has actively encouraged procreation.
The China Daily newspaper reported that only parents who were themselves both only children would be eligible. A public information campaign has been launched to highlight exemptions to the country's one-child policy.
The goal is to reduce the proportion of aging people in the population, and reduce future workforce shortages. Couples who were both only children, which includes most of the city's newly-weds, are allowed a second child.
Decades of a strictly enforced one-child policy has produced new strains across the population and prompted exceptions in some family categories. The move comes as China's most populous city becomes richer and older, with the number of retired residents soaring.
China's family planning policy has been relaxed in recent years to allow second children, but what is different now is that Shanghai is actively encouraging the change. "Shanghai's over-60 population already exceeds three million, or 21.6% of registered residents," said Zhang Meixin, a spokesman for the city's Municipal Population and Family Planning Commission.
Family planning officials and volunteers will make home visits and slip leaflets under doors to encourage couples to have a second child if both grew up as only children, the China Daily said. Leaflet campaign
He said the current average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime was less than one.
ANALYSIS Micky Bristow, BBC News Chinese and foreign experts have been saying for some time that China needs to change its strict family planning rules.
If the country continues as it is, the proportion of elderly people in society will continue to increase.
This is a problem because it will leave a smaller group of workers paying for the country's retired population.
But central government officials have consistently ruled out changing the national family planning policy.
They still believe that China has too many people - an opinion shared by almost everyone in the country.
That has left individual cities, such as Shanghai, to think up ways of coping with their own ageing communities.
"If all couples have children according to the policy, it would definitely help relieve pressure in the long term," he added.
Decades of a strictly enforced one-child policy has produced new strains across the population and prompted exceptions in some family categories. Rural parents are also allowed to have a second child, if the first-born is a girl.
In Shanghai, family planning officials and volunteers will make home visits and slip leaflets under doors to encourage couples to have a second child if both grew up as only children.
Emotional and financial counselling will also be provided, officials said.Emotional and financial counselling will also be provided, officials said.
By 2020, the country's most populous city is expected to have more than a third of residents aged 60 or above.
Policy relaxedPolicy relaxed
"We advocate eligible couples to have two kids because it can help reduce the proportion of the aging people and alleviate a workforce shortage in the future," said Xie Lingli, director of the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission. According to the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, by 2050 the country will have just 1.6 working-age adults to support each retired person, compared to 7.7 in 1975.
Shanghai, the country's most populous city, has more than three million registered residents aged 60 and above, nearly 22% of the population. By 2020, the proportion is expected to rise to about 34%, the China Daily said. The state-controlled newspaper China Daily quoted one salesman who said he was cheered by the new attitude.
CHINA'S ONE-CHILD POLICY Written into the constitution in 1978Government says has prevented about 400 million birthsMany rural couples allowed second child if first is a girlParents who are themselves only children can have two childrenEthnic minority couples allowed two or more children Has the one-child policy worked? China's 'perfect child' generation Grey areas in one-child policyCHINA'S ONE-CHILD POLICY Written into the constitution in 1978Government says has prevented about 400 million birthsMany rural couples allowed second child if first is a girlParents who are themselves only children can have two childrenEthnic minority couples allowed two or more children Has the one-child policy worked? China's 'perfect child' generation Grey areas in one-child policy
The state-controlled newspaper quoted one salesman who said he was cheered by the new attitude.
"I'm not sure, but such policy really gives us one more option. If family finance permits, I want to have two kids with my wife in the future," said 25-year-old Xiao Wang, who works at a local company."I'm not sure, but such policy really gives us one more option. If family finance permits, I want to have two kids with my wife in the future," said 25-year-old Xiao Wang, who works at a local company.
But the paper also highlighted objections to the idea. Others were less enthusiastic.
"I don't think we will have a second kid," said 26-year-old Xiao Chen, an office worker. "After all, it is stressful work raising a child.""I don't think we will have a second kid," said 26-year-old Xiao Chen, an office worker. "After all, it is stressful work raising a child."
Couples who ignore China's birth control policies usually pay fines and may face discrimination at work.Couples who ignore China's birth control policies usually pay fines and may face discrimination at work.
The many only children of China have earned the nickname of "little emperors" for the love and treats lavished upon them.The many only children of China have earned the nickname of "little emperors" for the love and treats lavished upon them.
China's birth-control policies have been hugely controversial at home and abroad, as enforcement has involved forced abortions and other abuses.China's birth-control policies have been hugely controversial at home and abroad, as enforcement has involved forced abortions and other abuses.
It has also been blamed for a gender imbalance, as a traditional preference for boys has persuaded some parents to abort girl foetuses.It has also been blamed for a gender imbalance, as a traditional preference for boys has persuaded some parents to abort girl foetuses.
Are you in Shanghai? Are you planning to have a second child? Send us your comments and stories using the form below.Are you in Shanghai? Are you planning to have a second child? Send us your comments and stories using the form below.
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