China's leadership decided to abolish the "One family, one child" principle, which had been in effect in the country for several decades
As Gazeta.Ru notes, China was forced to legally limit family size in the 1970s, when it became clear that the country's land, water and energy resources were not designed for such a huge number of people. Under the general rule, Chinese families who had a second child were forced to pay a large fine – from six to eight average annual incomes in the region of birth.
Today, the average number of children born to a woman in her lifetime in China has dropped from 5.8 to 1.6. However, throughout the entire period of the "One family, one child" concept, Chinese authorities made adjustments and somewhat relaxed it. For example, shortly before the repeal of the "one-child" norm for couples in a number of cities, families in which each parent was an only child were allowed to have a second child. In some rural areas, families where the first child was a girl are allowed to have a second child. At the same time, even those who formally had the right to have a second child had to go through a series of bureaucratic procedures to obtain official permission.
Violators of the demographic policy were subject to a high fine. The media regularly reported that local officials forced women who decided to have a second child to have late-term abortions. The only way to bypass the existing order is to give birth abroad, which is widely practiced by wealthy Chinese families.
Most residents of the PRC that journalists managed to talk to positively perceived the news about the change in the country's demographic policy.
"I think most people will take it well. It's not always that couples manage to conceive a boy the first time, and in Chinese society, men want to have a son, an heir. That's just the tradition here. And if a girl's name has a special character that means 'boy,' it means her parents want the next child to be a boy," says Altynai Su Li, a 23-year-old student at a Beijing university, a Chinese citizen.
"When restrictions are lifted, most people always receive it with joy. My boss, for example, has two children but wants more and constantly talks about the need for relaxation in the field of demographic regulation. Construction in China is now proceeding at an incredible pace, and construction in all directions – from ordinary residential buildings to incredibly large-scale roads, airports, high-speed railways, everything is done for the convenience and comfort of people; people, I think, will react positively to this, as to many other things that are being done in today's PRC," noted Anton Dyakonov, a permanent resident of the PRC.
However, some Chinese emphasized that demographic policy is not the only obstacle to creating a large family.
"I don't think that everyone will take advantage of this relaxation of the rules and have a second child now. Today in China many things are expensive, especially education. There are also other problems related to social security. Not everyone receives a pension," noted Yekaterina Bua Zong, who moved to the People's Republic of China after marrying a citizen of that country.
The news about the change in the PRC authorities' policy on fertility also elicited mixed reactions from experts. "Today's CPC decision is an epochal event. The 'One family, one child' principle was a forced measure, and its abolition indicates that China has moved to a higher level of development. This is also evidenced by statistical data: over the past 10 years, the number of middle-class representatives has grown from 20 million to 200 million!" Sergei Sanakoev, president of the autonomous non-profit organization "Russian-Chinese Analytical Center," told Gazeta.Ru.
"For modern China, allowing a family to have only one child was indeed an urgent issue. And the authorities gradually moved toward abolishing this policy: for example, they allowed couples where at least one member was from a one-child family to have two children. In principle, the 'One family, one child' policy had a positive impact on the PRC's economy: it prevented the birth of about 400 million people, and the money that would have been spent on their support was used for the economic development of the state. As a result, China became one of the world's leading economies," said demographer Elena Bazhenova, a leading researcher at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the RAS.
But, according to her, later this principle began to hinder China's development, which is why it was abolished. "Firstly, these measures led to an aging population: currently, Chinese people over 65 already make up more than 10% of the country's total population. And rural residents in the PRC are now unable to receive a pension. In addition, there is gender inequality. Now in China there are 40 million more men than women," the expert said.
"Among the Chinese I know, this news did not cause a stir. Even before today, most Chinese families have two children. The 'One family, one child' policy is more complex than people think.
So, parents who were only children in their families could have two children. Also, families could have a second and third child (and so on) by paying a fine, the amount of which varied significantly in different provinces and cities," said Evgeny Kolesov, general director of Optim Consult (Guangzhou, China), who has lived in the PRC for more than 17 years. He noted that the new regulation will make life easier for Chinese people, but those residents of the country who wanted a second child could have done so before.
«In general, those who wanted a second child could afford it. Those who did not will not rush to give birth en masse tomorrow. It should be understood that most non-Chinese who heard about this policy have distorted it too much. Chinese people have given birth and will continue to give birth.»
These days, the World Youth Chess Championship is taking place in Greece (I am interested in chess news because my son is a chess player), so look at the composition of the American and Canadian teams, for example. You will see in large numbers names such as Wang, Li, Wu, Zhou, Hu. The Chinese are very cunning, they find ways to reproduce,» Kolesov smiles.