Beijing ( AsiaNews) - With the relaxation of the notorious family planning law
- known as the "one-child law" - China can expect about 2 million more
new born babies in the coming year. This is according to government sources,
who say Beijing "has already ordered" the creation of new health
facilities for maternity care. Zhang Shikun, an official of the Commission for
the health of women and children, confirms: "Local authorities have been
told to build more health facilities for women and children and add maternity
beds".
According to UN figures, in 2013, almost 18.5 million children were born in
China: the data is inaccurate because it only takes into account registered
births, while several experts quantify hundreds of thousands of children born
in rural areas, who have not been registered. In any case, the government
forecasts speak of a 11% increase in births during the first year of the
relaxed family policy.
From 1979 onwards, China has - often violently - implemented the policy of one
child per family, to focus on the nation's economic development. As a result only
ethnic groups and farmers are allowed to have a second child if the first child
was a girl. Implementation of the law has often been violent, with exorbitant
fines against violators, and even forced sterilization and abortions up to nine
months of pregnancy. Family planning officials were often rewarded for ensuring
that the law and population quotas were respected opening the door to
corruption and abuse of power.
The easing
of the norm was launched in December 2013. It allows couples in which one partner is
already an only child, to have two children. In any case, the new policy still
remains limited even from the geographical point of view: its benefits will go
only to the inhabitants of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing and those
of the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Anhui, Sichuan, Guangdong and Jiangsu.