China has formally adopted a resolution easing the country’s one-child policy, the state news agency Xinhua reports.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed a resolution allowing couples to have two children if either parent is an only child.
A proposal to abolish re-education through labor camps was also approved.
The changes in policy were announced following a meeting of top Communist Party officials in November.
The reforms, which came at the end of a six-day meeting of the congress, have already been tested in parts of the country.
They needed formal legislative approval to be put into effect.
China has formally adopted a resolution easing the country’s one-child policy
It is expected that reforms will be rolled out gradually and incrementally around the country, with provincial authorities entrusted to make their own decisions on implementation according to the local demographic situation.
Factors other than the one-child policy, such as a lack of social security support, have also encouraged couples to limit their offspring.
China is now believed to have a birth rate of just over 1.5 children per woman of child-bearing age – which is, in fact, higher than many of its regional neighbors, including Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.
Niger has the world’s highest birth rate per woman, with over seven, India has 2.55 and the US has 2.06.
China introduced its one-child policy at the end of the 1970s to curb rapid population growth.
But correspondents say the policy has become increasingly unpopular and that leaders fear the country’s ageing population will both reduce the labor pool and exacerbate elderly care issues.
By 2050, more than a quarter of the population will be over 65.
The one-child policy has on the whole been strictly enforced, though some exceptions already exist, including for ethnic minorities.
Previous reforms also permitted couples to have a second child where both were only children or, in the case of rural couples, where their first-born child was a girl.
The traditional preference for boys has created a gender imbalance as some couples opt for gender-selective abortions.
By the end of the decade, demographers say China will have 24 million “leftover men” who, because of China’s gender imbalance, will not be able to find a wife.
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China has decided to relax its policy of restricting most couples to having only a single child, state media announces.
In future, families will be allowed two children if one parent is an only child, says the Xinhua news agency.
The one-child policy already exempts rural dwellers and ethnic minorities.
The move comes after this week’s meeting of a key decision-making body of the governing Communist Party. Other reforms include the abolition of “re-education through labor” camps.
The network of camps created half a century ago holds thousands of inmates.
Police panels have the power to sentence offenders to years in camps without a trial.
China’s leaders have previously said they wanted to reform the system.
The decision to do away with the camps was “part of efforts to improve human rights and judicial practices”, Xinhua said.
Most of these changes have already been tested in parts of the country.
Officials announce their plans well in advance to gain the consensus they need.
The Third Plenum of the Communist Party under President Xi Jinping, who took power last year, also announced plans for economic reform.
In future, Chinese families will be allowed two children if one parent is an only child
Traditionally reforms are expected from the Third Plenum, because new leaders are seen as having had time to consolidate power.
On Tuesday, when the meeting ended, China’s leaders promised the free market would play a bigger role, and farmers would have greater property rights over their land.
State firms will be required to pay larger dividends to the government, while private firms will be given a greater role in the economy.
There will be greater liberalization in both interest rates and the free convertibility of the yuan. More overseas investment will be allowed.
There will also be an increase in the number of smaller banks and financial institutions funded by private capital.
Other reforms announced on Friday include a reduction in the number of crimes subject to the death penalty.
The one-child policy would be “adjusted and improved step by step to promote <<long-term balanced development of the population in China>>”, Xinhua said, quoting a Communist Party statement released on Friday.
China introduced its one-child policy at the end of the 1970s to curb rapid population growth.
It has on the whole been strictly enforced, though some exceptions already exist, including for ethnic minorities.
In some cities, both parents must be only children in order to be allowed to have a second child.
In the countryside, families are allowed to have two children if the first is a girl.
Rights groups say the law has meant some women being coerced into abortions, which Beijing denies.
The traditional preference for boys has also created a gender imbalance as some couples opt for sex-selective abortions.
By the end of the decade, demographers say China will have 24 million “leftover men” who, because of China’s gender imbalance, will not be able to find a wife.
Most of the elderly in China are still cared for by relatives, and only children from single-child parents face what is known as the 4-2-1 phenomenon.
When the child reaches working age, he or she could have to care for two parents and four grandparents in retirement.
After decades of population growth, China’s working-age population has recently begun to shrink.
By 2050, more than a quarter of China’s population will be over 65.
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