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China Has Finally Made It Possible For Its Citizens To Have More Than One Child

China's top legislature has formally adopted a resolution easing its decades-long one-child policy, allowing some couples to have two kids.

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China’s top legislature Saturday made a resolution to allow couples to have two children if either parent is an only child

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) passed a resolution on adjusting and improving the family planning policy through a vote at its bi-monthly session which closed here Saturday, reported Xinhua.

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The one-child policy has been strictly enforced, but has become unpopular

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The resolution, equal to a legal document in China, entrusts provincial congresses and their standing committees to make the call about implementing the new policy.

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The Communist Party of China (CPC) decided to ease the only-child policy at the landmark third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee

“They should amend local family planning regulations, or issue a special act, in time, based on evaluation of local demographic situation and in line with the law on population and family planning as well as this resolution,” the document said.

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Since family planning is written as an essential state strategy in the Constitution, it will require a resolution from the top legislature to adjust it.

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China's family planning law was first introduced in the 1970s to put a halt on population increase and restrict the number of children in urban and rural families

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However, the country's leaders now fear China's ageing population will reduce the labour pool and exacerbate elderly care issues.

By 2050, more than a quarter of the population will be over 65.

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Under the new rules, couples will be able to have two children if either parent is an only child. Previously, they were only allowed to have a second baby if both were only children.

The NPC said provincial governments will be allowed to make their own decisions on implementation of the policy depending on local conditions, Xinhua reported.

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Beijing’s government said it expects to start implementing the policy in March and the local health department will increase the number of maternity beds to cope with the changes, according to a Xinhua report yesterday.

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The new policy will help maintain China’s labor force at a “reasonable size,” ease the speed at which the country’s population is aging and boost the economy, Wang Peian, deputy director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission said last month.

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At the same time, “not too many” couples fulfill the new criteria and the change won’t lead to a large increase in the population in the short term, Wang said.

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