WUNRN
CHINA - ONE-CHILD POLICY TO BE
RELAXED
15
November 2013 -
In future, families will be allowed two
children if one parent is an only child, says the Xinhua news agency.
The one-child policy already exempts
rural dwellers and ethnic minorities.
The move comes after this week's meeting
of a key decision-making body of the governing Communist Party. Other reforms
include the abolition of "re-education through labour" camps.
On Tuesday, when the meeting ended,
State firms will be required to pay
larger dividends to the government, while private firms will be given a greater
role in the economy.
On Tuesday, when the meeting ended,
State firms will be required to pay
larger dividends to the government, while private firms will be given a greater
role in the economy.
There
will be greater liberalisation in both interest rates and the free
convertibility of the yuan. More overseas investment will be allowed.
There will also be an increase in the
number of smaller banks and financial institutions funded by private capital.
Other reforms announced on Friday
include a reduction in the number of crimes subject to the death penalty.
The one-child policy would be
"adjusted and improved step by step to promote 'long-term balanced
development of the population in China'", Xinhua said, quoting a Communist
Party statement released on Friday.
But correspondents say the policy has
become increasingly unpopular.
It has on the whole been strictly
enforced, though some exceptions already exist, including for ethnic
minorities.
In some cities, both parents must be
only children in order to be allowed to have a second child.
By 2050 more than a
quarter of
In
the countryside, families are allowed to have two children if the first is a
girl.
Rights groups say the law has meant some
women being coerced into abortions, which
The traditional preference for boys has
also created a gender imbalance as some couples opt for sex-selective
abortions.
By the end of the decade, demographers
say
Most of the elderly in
When the child reaches working age, he
or she could have to care for two parents and four grandparents in retirement.
After decades of population growth,
By 2050, more than a quarter of the
population will be over 65.