China Still Faces Grim Population SituationChina can hardly be optimistic about its population situation in the coming five years, with its population increasing by 10 million annually, said Zhang Weiqing, minister in charge of the State Family Planning Commission Tuesday, December 19.Whether the low birth rate can be stabilized is a matter of great importance and it will affect the overall situation, Zhang said at a press conference held by the Information Office of the State Council. Zhang said that the comparatively low education level of the population as a whole can not be changed within a short period of time. With the increasing pressure on employment and an aging population, the contradiction between population, socio-economic development, resource utilization and environmental protection would appear to be an acute one. He said that the society in China is not yet fully aware of the importance of solving the population problem, without a considerable number of people entirely changing their concept of childbearing. The family planning management system, working style, the quality of service delivery as well as the quality of family planning workers cannot fully meet the requirements of the current situation. Therefore, there is an urgent need to speed up the reform and improvement of the program, said Zhang. When explaining China's future population policies, Zhang said that it is essential to stabilize the low birth rate and improve the health of the new born. Policy decisions should be made with the integration of the population and development. Decisions should bring the population and family planning program in line with the overall plan for socio-economic development. In accordance with the main family planning policy, a series of auxiliary policies favorable to the sound implementation of the family planning program have to be formulated, said Zhang. He stressed that legislation is an urgent need for the implementation of the population and family planning program. It is necessary to speed up the formulation of relevant national laws and regulations. Efforts should be made to set up a relatively complete legal system in the population and family planning field in the coming five years, so that the program could be managed in accordance with the law. A breakthrough is to be made in implementing the population and family planning program in west China during the large scale development of the region, said Zhang. In addition, quality services for family planning and reproductive health are to be offered, and activities for promoting new marriage customs are to be further carried out throughout the country. Zhang added that it is necessary to strengthen the control of migratory population with better services and pay more attention to the aging of the population. |
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