Families with twins cannot have a third child: China

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BEIJING, Nov. 20 -- The National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), China's demographic authority, clarified that families with twins or multiple births are not eligible for the new birth control policy on Tuesday, according to the Beijing Morning Post.

The new policy issued on November 15 allows couples to have a second child when one or both of them are the only child in their families.

The NHFPC further explained the policy this Tuesday in the midst of heated public discussions and questions being raised among the public.

"The adjustment of this policy is a step by the government towards better family planning and population balancing," said the authorities. "However, birth control will still stand as China's basic state policy."

The one-child policy was introduced in the late 1970s to rein in the surging population by limiting most urban couples to one child.

The policy was later relaxed so that if both parents were only children they could have a second child.

The latest change comes as Chinese society is becoming an aging population, with the increasing burden of social pensions posing great challenges to society as a whole.

• Policy shift gives birth to investor optimism
• Nation braces for more babies
• Mixed feelings over a second child
• One-child changes key to balanced population
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