Beijing's New Policy: Having two babies possibleChina's decades-old one-child family planning policy is to be revised, beginning with the economically vibrant capital city of Beijing and southern Guangdong Province.A couple, both of whom are the ``only child'' of their families, will be allowed to have two babies from April 1 in Beijing, the city's family planning commission said. The new policy has also been put into practice in China's southern Guangdong Province, according to Chinese press. More provinces in China will implement the policy. To control excessive exploration of the population, China phased in the ``one child'' family planning policy in middle 1970s. Under the system, a married couple were allowed to give birth to only one child. The policy has been proved successful in curtailing population growth in China. However, it has also led to grievance of some old people who fear for their lonely elderly life, since four grandparents would have only one child to care for. Some economists and policy-makers also pointed out the potential drought of labour force, especially talented people, in the near future, if the old policy is not changed. The new policy is not compulsory. To those who give up the chance to have a second baby, the governmental award will be doubled, from the present 1,000 to 2,000 yuan. |
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