China’s policy of relaxation of its one-child policy has gained attention worldwide. It is a welcome change for many but still needs further changes in order to be fully acceptable for all. According to a Communist Party announcement on Friday, couples in China will now be allowed to have two children if one of the parents is an only child.
Since the late 1970s, most couples in the world’s most populous nation China have legally been restricted to an only child, in order to curb the mushrooming population growth. China’s fertility rate — the number of children a woman has in her lifetime — currently stands at 1.5, academics estimate, far below the 2.1 which is needed to keep the population stable. Also, current exceptions to the policy include some rural families whose first child is a girl and who yearn for a baby boy (bacha), also ethnic minorities, and couples who are both only children.
