China scraps decades old one-child policy

China scraps decades old one-child policy

FPJ BureauUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 09:20 PM IST
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Surveys had pointed out that rapidly ageing China may face a labour shortfall as early as 2021 besides gender imbalance if the policy is pursued further.

Beijing : Grappling with a major demographic crisis and an economic slowdown, China’s ruling Communist Party on Thursday scrapped its controversial three decades-long one-child policy, allowing all couples in the world’s most populous nation to have two children. “China abandons one-child policy,” Xinhua, China’s official news agency, said on Twitter, citing a communiqué issued by the Communist Party of China, relaxing the rigid policy by permitting all couples to have two children in a move that can have huge implications globally.

The announcement comes at the end of the four-day plenary session of the CPC headed by President Xi Jinping. The change of policy is intended to balance population development and address the challenge of an ageing population, the communiqué said. The proposal is to be approved by the rubber stamp legislature, the National People’s Congress, before it is implemented. According to last year’s official report, China had about 185 million people above the age of 60, or 13.7 per cent of the population and the numbers were expected to surge to 221 million this year, including 51 million “empty nesters” or elderly people whose children no longer live with them.

This is the first time China has done away with its one-child policy in over three-and-a-half long decades. The policy was considered controversial as it forced many abortions and continued to be criticised by rights groups and activists. The announcement comes amid slowdown of China’s economy that has plunged below the 7 per cent figure for the first time since the 2009 global economic crisis. China, also the world’s second largest economy, is the most populous country with a population of over 1.357 billion people, according to the 2013 census.

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