On May 31, China announced that married couples are allowed to have up to three children, hence the prior two-children policy has been removed.
The latest decision was taken by President Xi Jinping at a Communist Party meeting. This is an attempt to retrogress declining birth rates as in 2020 China had a fertility rate of just 1.3 children per woman. The newest announcement shows an acknowledgement that the limits on reproduction are jeopardizing the country’s future and might bring a demographic crisis.
However, many people do not believe that this new policy will effectively change the age of China’s population as surveys show that a very small number of families desire a third child. Demographers claim that this policy would have been much more effective before the one-child mindset was established.
Why has this decision been made?
In 2016 China’s president changed the one-child policy replacing it with a two-child one, to try to avoid risks to its economy from a promptly ageing population.
However, despite the possibility of having two children, many Chinese families could not afford to raise two children in Chinese cities as they are extremely expensive.
According to Xinhua news agency, the policy will come with ” supportive measures, which will be conducive to improving our country’s population structure, fulfilling the country’s strategy of actively coping with an ageing population.”
To increase the birth rate, China will lower education costs, it will improve maternity leave and workplace protections and, additionally, it will try to teach marriage and love to young people. This is deemed to be the biggest issue for Chinese families as raising a child in China is very expensive and few families can afford to give birth to two or three children. It is extremely important to provide aid to families or to decrease the cost of living so that people are strongly encouraged to give birth.
Births rates in China
Birth rates in China have decreased for four years, including 2020 which was the lowest number since the Mao era. As aforementioned, the birth rate is at 1.3 which is much lower than the replacement rate which is 2.1. Huang Wenzeheng, a demographic expert, asserted that giving birth should be completely eased, indeed should be highly encouraged.
Moreover, he claimed that there should never have been a birth restriction policy. According to the Human Rights organisation called Amnesty International, the policy is a violation of sexual and reproductive rights. The government should not be allowed to decide how many children people can have. As stated by Joshua Rosenzweig, a China team head, China should simply stop its birth policy and should respect people’s decision without being invasive over family’s decision.
A shocking episode is the case of Li Fangfang, a 33-year-old former government worker, who was fired by her employer for having a third child. The latter went to court and her case was publicized but she was not happy about the idea of showing her name for fear of criticism for breaking the rules. However, currently, she stated she is very excited that the authorities realised it was ‘excessive’ to expose parents to fines or other punishment as a result of a child. She is still waiting for a court ruling, however, she wants China to become a birth-friendly country as no baby is excessive.
In conclusion, it is of vital importance for people to be able to choose how many children they desire and there should not be any punishment or fine if they have four children rather than three. As stated by the Human Rights organisation called Amnesty International it is a breach of reproductive rights. Moreover, it is necessary to increase the birth rate to avoid a demographic crisis.
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