China commissions research to end 'one-child' policy, decision could be made in 2019, says report
China is considering ending the limit it sets on the number of children a family can have, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Hong Kong: China is considering ending the limit it sets on the number of children a family can have, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Representational image. AFP
China’s population is ageing rapidly, with the number of births falling by 3.5 percent to 17.23 million last year despite the country’s decision in late 2015 to relax the controversial “one-child” policy and allow couples to have a second child.
The State Council, or cabinet, has commissioned research on ending the country’s birth limits on a nationwide basis, the Bloomberg report said.
A decision could be made in the last quarter of this year or in 2019, the report said.
China implemented its one-child policy in the 1970s to limit population growth, but authorities are concerned that a dwindling workforce will not be able to support an increasingly ageing population.
The one-child policy also contributed to a sharp gender imbalance, with 32.66 million more males than females at the end of 2017.
also read
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey film pulled from Hong Kong cinemas
The film being pulled in Hong Kong has prompted concern on social media over the territory’s shrinking freedoms.
Hong Kong: Two held for publishing 'seditious' children's books that came from UK
According to the Chinese-language Mingpao newspaper, Britain sent illustrated children's books that compared Hongkongers to sheep defending their village from wolves during the 2019 unrest, a clear allusion to the Chinese authorities
Hong Kong asylum seekers fear deportation under tightened policy
Rules passed in December allow authorities to expel people whose applications were rejected but are awaiting appeal court verdicts