Topic Reading-Vol.936-11/3/2014

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Fewer couples want second child

Is that a surprise, underestimate or miscalculation? Of the 11 million who become eligible to have a second child in China, only 720,000 applied to have one.

China’s one-child policy was introduced in 1979 as part of their family planning policy. It has been implemented until recently when the administration decided to ease the rules by allowing couples to have a second child if one of the parents is an only child. They estimated two million couples would apply to have another child especially in urban area where the restriction has been strongly implanted.

However, parents responded not as enthusiastically as they were predicted. Part of the reason is high education cost. That is a common concern in developed counties in Asia such as Korea, Japan and Hong Kong.

Can they sustain demographic balance in the coming decades?

Enjoy reading and learning about China’s new challenge to balancing the largest population in the world.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-10/30/content_18825388.htm