Multivariate family planning policy in China

　　It has been over two decades since China adopted the Family Planning Policy. However, there still exist misunderstandings about this policy. People mistakenly think that China’s Family Planning Policy equals the One Child Policy, which allows one couple to have only one child. Their impression is that this policy is implemented more strictly in urban areas: in cities where people are better off, one couple can have only one child, while in the poor rural areas, one couple can have two or three children. Furthermore, they think that the One Child Policy is the cause of gender imbalance. I will now clarify these misunderstandings.

　　As a matter of fact, the policy adopted in the early 1980s is a multivariate policy called the Family Planning Policy, or the fertility policy. Its multivariate nature can be proved by two facts.

　　First, the total fertility rate in China now stands at 1.8, which means there is more than one child per family in most areas. For example, there is generally only one child in a family in urban areas, but two in rural areas, and three in ethnic minority areas. In some areas, like Tibet, there are no restrictions at all on the number of children a family can have. We can tell from this fact that China’s Family Planning Policy varies in accordance with the economic and social development level of different areas.

　　Secondly, China is seeing an unbalanced sex ratio at birth at the moment. The sex ration at birth refers to the number of boys born per 100 girls born. This is not the same concept as the sex ratio of the total population.

　　The unbalance is not entirely the result of the Family Planning Policy. I would like to cite two interesting examples. My first example is the Republic of Korea. In 1988, the sex ratio at birth in the ROK was 114, and the ratio now in China is 117. I believe there was no family planning policy in the ROK. My second example is Singapore, whose sex ration at birth in 1984 was 109. Why is it a common problem in Asia? There are two main reasons. The first reason is the influence of traditional culture and ideology, that is, a preference for sons, which poses a great problem for the sex ratio at birth. Second, China’s unbalanced birth ratio is attributable to the poor social security system in rural areas.

　　The Chinese government has launched a nationwide Girl Care Project to hamper the rising sex ratio at birth. This project aims to educate the general public to abandon their traditional preference for male children and to advocate female children’s status and rights. Secondly, the Chinese government is also making an effort to establish and improve the social security system, particularly in rural areas.

　　Thirdly, the phenomenon of allowing one child for urban families and two to three children for families in poor areas called as reverse selection of population quality. I have two points to make in this regard. The policy in rural areas is made in accordance with the economic situation there. The social security system is being gradually improved in rural areas. If a stringent One Child Policy is to be introduced in this process, the household insurance coverage is likely to be reduced for rural families. Therefore, the number of children allowed in rural families is dependent on the economic situation.

　　聯(lián)合國駐華協(xié)調(diào)代表談中國的家庭與人口

　　家庭問題是十分復(fù)雜的，與經(jīng)濟(jì)、社會和文化等各方面的發(fā)展息息相關(guān)。世界各地有充分證據(jù)表明，老齡化、人口遷徙和艾滋病等引起的家庭結(jié)構(gòu)及規(guī)模的變化，將在經(jīng)濟(jì)、社會和文化上對家庭產(chǎn)生負(fù)面影響，除非我們仔細(xì)研究、認(rèn)真對待這些問題。

　　中國的情況也不例外。中國是世界上人口最多的國家，自20世紀(jì)50年代起，中國經(jīng)歷了一個人口快速增長的時期，現(xiàn)有的13億人口以每年700萬人的速度在增長。中國政府一直將關(guān)系到每個社會成員衣食住行等家庭問題作為首要問題來對待。中國家庭一般三代同堂，近年來有所變化。

　　中國致力于改革已經(jīng)20多年，擁有強(qiáng)大的體制和勤勞的人民，這些使中國取得了前所未有的成就，使四五億人口成功擺脫貧困，使中國成為世界上最大的貿(mào)易國之一，并完成了大部分聯(lián)合國千年發(fā)展目標(biāo)，其中有些目標(biāo)比預(yù)期的2015年提前了整整11年。然而，正如去年3月發(fā)布的中國千年發(fā)展目標(biāo)進(jìn)度報告所指出，一些老問題依然存在，而快速發(fā)展又產(chǎn)生了一些新得問題。東部和西部之間、農(nóng)村和城市之間、男性與女性之間的發(fā)展日益不平衡，是急需盡快解決的緊迫問題。同時，經(jīng)濟(jì)與社會、人類與自然的發(fā)展的矛盾也日漸突出。家庭，尤其是貧困家庭，面臨艾滋病的威脅，缺乏機(jī)會，無法享受各種資源和服務(wù)，生存環(huán)境日益惡化。中國政府正努力通過自己的千年發(fā)展目標(biāo)來應(yīng)對這些挑戰(zhàn)，也就是力爭到2020年實(shí)現(xiàn)全面小康社會。

　　中國國家人口與計劃生育委員會以及其他各級政府部門擔(dān)負(fù)著保證家庭問題與國家整體發(fā)展進(jìn)程緊密聯(lián)系的挑戰(zhàn)和責(zé)任。幫助完成這一使命符合我們的共同利益。