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 | Sunday, May 07, 2000, updated at 11:38(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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China Sets Population Goal for Next DecadeChina will control its population to within 1.4 billion by the end of 2010, according to a decision on population and family planning issued by the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and the State Council on March 2.To achieve the goal, China will try to keep the average population birth rate under 1.5 percent a year, according to the decision published in Beijing. The populations in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and in Taiwan Province are not included in the project. China will also work to improve the health of newborns, balance the proportion of baby girls and boys in the total number of newborns, and provide better reproductive health care services. An improved family planning system will also be created featuring more effective management, administrative measures, and laws. The decision cited several principles which will help realize the population goal in the next decade. The population growth should be coordinated with the economic and social development. The country will continue to encourage marriage and childbearing at later ages and call for "one child per couple," while some couples will be allowed to have a second child in accordance with the law. People from ethnic minority groups should also follow the family planning policy. But the specific regulations for them will be issued by the governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Other principles include involving all of society in promoting family planning and solving the population problem, combining state rules with people's will, and improving people's life and education through family planning services. According to the decision, China faces the crucial but monumental task of sustaining a low birth rate in the early 21st Century. In the next few decades, China will shift from slow population growth to zero growth if a low birth rate is maintained. The population will reach its peak by the middle of the 21st Century, and the population quality will be improved during the period. However, the country continues to feel the pressure of a large and growing population. The population will increase by 10 million a year in the next few decades, and it won't be easy to improve the population quality within a short period. The aging of the population, the contradictions among population, economy, society, resources and environment, and other problems still remain. The next 10 years is a vital period for China to sustain a low birth rate, the decision said. If there are any mistakes in population policy and family planning work, or negative effects brought about by the international community, the birth rate in China might return to a high level. At the heart of the population problem is the issue of development which is closely related to the improvement of people' s life and population quality and the prosperity of the Chinese nation. The decision called on government and party officials at all levels to attach great importance to the population issue, and make every effort to realize the country's goal in population and family planning.
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