Thursday, August 05, 2004

International News

China Adopts New Population Policy That Financially Rewards Farmers Who Have Few Children

      The Chinese government this year is scheduled to begin a pilot program in certain parts of the country that will financially reward farmers who have no children, only one child or two female children, Xinhua News Agency reports (Xinhua News Agency, 8/4). In the 1970s, China instituted its controversial one-child policy to control its population growth, but it has allowed local governments to decide how to apply the regulation. The one-child policy has led to 300 million fewer births over the last 10 years, according to Chinese government authorities (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 4/14). However, the policy has produced social problems such as an unbalanced sex ratio and a decline in the standard of living for some families, especially in rural areas, according to Xinhua News Agency. The new policy -- which will be implemented on a trial basis in 15 provinces and municipalities in the western and central parts of China -- provides farmers 60 years of age and older with approximately $73 annually as long as both husband and wife are farmers; they had no children in violation of family-planning policies from 1973 to 2001; and they have either no children, one child or two daughters. The local and national governments will share the cost of the payments, according to Xinhua News Agency. The new policy will be progressively implemented across the country in the future, according to the State Commission for Population and Family Planning.

Policy Changes
The policy is an important step toward helping Chinese farmers comply with the country's family-planning policy, according to Pan Guiyu, PFP vice minister. China's population policy is beginning to place more value on human rights by shifting from a policy of "punishing those who have many children" to "rewarding those who have fewer children," according to population expert Liu Junzhe. Liu added that the policy may also modify traditional beliefs that male children support their parents and carry on ancestral lines as well as restore a balance to the country's sex ratio (Xinhua News Agency, 8/4).