Cash reward for one-child families
0 
 |
|
Families in Yunnan Province are being enticed with a 1,000- yuan ($149) cash reward to abandon plans to have a second child even when they are legally allowed to do so. |
"Five thousand yuan is nothing when the family wants to have a second child," Zhang Xiaohong, 42, from Shenmu, Shaanxi Province, told the Global Times Thursday.
Zhang said families would not agree not to have a second child merely because of the financial award.
"In other words, for families like us, even without the award, we don't want to have one more," he said.
Li Jianmin, a professor at the Population Development Research Institute at Nankai University and vice chairman of China Population Association, said the award for couples who give up having a second child will gradually fade out.
Li told the Global Times Thursday that there are fewer couples who want a second child compared with decades ago.
"The absence of the family planning policy will not lead to couples having more children. It's time for China to abolish the policy and let couples have the right to decide whether to give birth to more children or not," Li said.
Yao Yuan, a professor specializing in demographics and aging at Renmin University of China, said the country is still trying to deal with the aging population, and many people flock to urban areas.
"Continuing the family planning policy is a necessary way to control the size of the population," he told the Global Times.
