China has finally allowed couples to have a second child and has officially ended its controversial 'one child policy'. The Chinese lawmakers approved the new birth policy to reduce demographic crisis of shrinking labor force and ageing population.
The previous one-child policy was supposed to reduce environmental and social pressures from rapid population growth. However, in a congressional meeting and by the ruling of the Communist Party, the old law which lasted more than thirty years and have prevented 400 million births in the country, will now be officially replaced by the new one. The Chinese government signed the law which then eliminate the country's one child policy. The new law will be effective by January 1, 2016.
According to Xinhua, a news agency by the state, Chinese lawmakers have already rubber-stamped the new legislation of Law on Population and Family. They reported, "The state advocates that one couple shall be allowed to have two children."
The new law was passed by 159 members of the National People's Congress Standing Committee. Its approval was a formality as the ruling Communist Party of China has already approved it. The ruling Communist Party also issued a statement, "To promote a balanced growth of population, China will continue to uphold the basic national policy of population control and improve its strategy on population development." They also emphasized that China will fully implement the policy of 'one couple, two children' in a proactive response to the issue of an aging population.
National Health and Family Planning stated that the newly passed law is expected to add an estimated 30 million people to the workforce by 2050.However, some scholars say that the new law of China's two child policy is likely to be 'too little, too late' to address China's population crisis.
Despite of the new law's massive publicity, official surveys reported that China's 'two child rule' has raised less enthusiasm. The survey indicates that the people are not ardent enough to have a second child die to heavy costs involved in bringing up a second child.
