Time to loosen family planning policy: think tank

Time to loosen family planning policy: think tank

BEIJING, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- China should consider adjusting its family planning policy, as structural¹ problems have overtaken excessive growth as the most significant population-related problem, a government think tank said Friday.

Problems in population structure, quality and distribution have become increasingly visible and will have a profound impact on China's future social and economic development, the China Development Research Foundation (CDRF) said in a report.

China's population has seen a declining annual growth rate, slowing to 0.57 percent in the first decade of the 21st century, down from 1.07 percent in the previous ten years, according to the report.

China's population situation is quite different from that of 30 years ago, when a family planning policy that limited the majority of urban families to one child took effect, the report said.

The report said the population is heading for negative growth and an ultra-low fertility rate, as well as faces issues related to aging, gender² imbalances, urbanization, an expanding shortage of migrant workers and an only-child generation.

The CDRF said the government should gradually loosen the one-child policy over the next three years in regions where family planning has been strictly³ implemented⁴.

By 2020, there will be no need to continue birth planning, as people will make more rational decisions on birth issues, said the CDRF.

The CDRF said China will have an ultra-low fertility rate after 2026 and that the government should start encouraging families to have more children.

The family planning policy was introduced around 1980 to rein⁵ in China's surging population by encouraging late marriages and pregnancies⁶, as well as limiting most urban couples to one child and most rural couples to two children.

"The family planning policy has had a profound influence on China's economic and social development," said the CDRF.

The implementation⁷ of the policy has reduced the pressure created by a rapidly rising population, made contributions to economic growth and helped improve population quality, it said.

However, China has paid a huge political and social cost for the policy, as it has resulted in social conflict, high administrative⁸ costs and led indirectly⁹ to a long-term gender imbalance at birth, the report said.

Efforts should be made to support one-child and disadvantaged families in family planning, the CDRF said.

The report also pointed¹⁰ out the aging population and the fact that China's "demographic dividend¹¹" has already ended will pose a severe challenge for the country's future development.

"This means China cannot rely on an unlimited¹² labor¹³ supply for its future economic development, but must instead boost its total factor productivity (TFP)," said Cai Fang¹⁴, director of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The government should increase investment in health care and education to establish a national innovation system that could improve China's TFP and create a new "demographic dividend," which will secure China's sustainable growth in the long run, said Cai, one of the report's writers.

The CDRF said the government should pay more attention to the development of rural children, reducing gender discrimination and balancing regional development.

Policies should be improved to manage issues brought about by the aging population, as well as support disadvantaged families, the report said.

1 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

2 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

3 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

4 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

5 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

6 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

7 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

8 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

9 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

11 dividend   

n.红利，股息；回报，效益

参考例句：

• The company was forced to pass its dividend.该公司被迫到期不分红。
• The first quarter dividend has been increased by nearly 4 per cent.第一季度的股息增长了近 4%。

12 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

13 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

14 fang   

n.尖牙，犬牙

参考例句：

• Look how the bone sticks out of the flesh like a dog's fang.瞧瞧,这根骨头从肉里露出来，象一只犬牙似的。
• The green fairy's fang thrusting between his lips.绿妖精的尖牙从他的嘴唇里龇出来。