China formally eases one-child policy

[bananas]

Source: BBC

China's top legislature has formally adopted a resolution easing the country's one-child policy, the state news agency Xinhua reports.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed a resolution allowing couples to have two children if either parent is an only child.

A proposal to abolish re-education through labour camps was also approved.

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It is expected that reforms will be rolled out gradually and incrementally around the country, with provincial authorities entrusted to make their own decisions on implementation according to the local demographic situation.

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China is now believed to have a birth rate of just over 1.5 children per woman of child-bearing age - which is, in fact, higher than many of its regional neighbours, including Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.

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Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-25533339

[jsr]

1. It was inevitable

[Glorfindel]

2. I'm sorry to hear it

I think China's one-child policy has been a great benefit to humanity overall. Imagine what China (and the world) would look like with five billion people inside its borders instead of 1.5 billion.

[Major Nikon]

3. The policy had all sorts of exemptions

One of which was if you were affluent and could afford the tax, you could have as many children as you wanted.

[marshall]

4. I'd like to see them promote the positives of childlessness

Rather than legislating how many children one can have, give incentives to have fewer. Give lots of support to families with one child, and provide a secure retirement for those with no children. They took this approach with regards to their problem of aborting female pregnancies. They plastered billboards all over the country lauding the wonders of raising a girl.

[davidpdx]

6. I agree, but in most Asian cultures are you expected to have children when you marry

If not, people look at you like there is something wrong with you. I've lived in Korea for 10 years and am married to a Korean. I get asked all the time about whether I have children (my wife and I are both in our early to mid 40's). We don't have kids and probably won't. Being childless is becoming more popular in Korea as is having only one child. The drawback is that even with immigration, the population will shrink from around 50 million to possibly as low as 40 million by 2050.

I think China is going to experience a population decrease eventually as most will decide either they can't afford to raise a child or they will put their careers first.

[happyslug]

8. At 1.5 child per woman, they are below replacement level

In simple terms, they are like their neighbors, Russia, Japan, Korea and Taiwan below replacement level. i.e Population is expected to drop over the next 50 years as the existing people die off, and the pool of people is much smaller. On the other hand, once the populations started to drop it was understood that the one child policy would also have to end. You need to have a balance population in term of age. Three seniors for every child is believe doable, and that is what the Chinese are shooting for.

[Marrah_G]

10. It has caused alot of social issues

From taking care of elderly parents to huge numbers of men with no hope of ever finding a life partner.

[bossy22]

5. it was expected

china's labor force is actually going to start decreasing within the next 5 years putting a strain on economic growth. There median age in 20 years is expected to be higher than ours, making them the first country to grow "grey before they grow rich".

I don't see this as really helping though. Many articles have been written about how it isn't only the threat of law that prevents parents from having multiple children- its that many of them just don't want another kid by choice.

China has grown up too quickly. The government has essentially forced the progression of their nation far beyond where its "natural growth" would have taken it. It's evident all around the country. The difference between the city life and rural life. Just go 20 miles outside many major cities and you feel like you are in a different country. It's why the government is so concerned with internal security.

on edit: one major indicator of true societal development if the immigrant/emigrant ratio or net migration ratio. China is a negative migration ratio- meaning that more people are leaving than coming in.

[freshwest]

7. I think as more Chinese move to the USA and other countries it will not affect China as much. Some

nations are having zero population growth and even substantial loss and Chinese immigration can make up the difference. There will be cultural changes but if that's what the people in the host nation want, it's a win. I haven't seen any negatives in my area with our Asian emigrants.

[Heywood J]

9. Meanwhile, just in time for the coming population boom...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/millions-of-acres-of-china-farmland-too-polluted-to-grow-food-1.2479102

More than eight million acres of China's farmland is too polluted with heavy metals and other chemicals to use for growing food, a Cabinet official said Monday, highlighting a problem that is causing growing public concern.

The threat from pollution to China's food supply has been overshadowed by public alarm at smog and water contamination but is gaining attention following scandals over tainted rice and other crops. The government triggered complaints in February when it refused to release results of a nationwide survey of soil pollution, declaring them a state secret.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/national/333m-hectares-of-land-too-contaminated-to-grow-food/shdaily.shtml

China’s determination to squeeze as much food and resources as possible from its land has put thousands of farms close to chemical plants, mines and other heavy industries, raising the risks of contamination.

With food security still the most pressing concern, China is determined to ensure that at least 120 million hectares of land is reserved for agriculture, a policy known as the “bottom line.” The rehabilitation of polluted land is part of that policy.

A government land survey revealed traces of toxic metals dating back at least a century as well as pesticides banned in the 1980s, and state researchers have said that as much as 70 percent of China’s soil could have problems.

Farmers are already prohibited from raising crops for human consumption in areas across China that are deemed too badly polluted. But tainted rice and other crops have made their way into the food supply.