Chinese Premier Wen Says One-Child-Per-Family Policy Will Continue

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao last week at a national conference on population and family planning said the Chinese government will not change its one-child-per-family policy, Xinhua/China Daily reports (Xinhua/China Daily, 12/27/06). China's one-child-per-family policy seeks to keep the country's population, now 1.3 billion, at about 1.7 billion by 2050. Ethnic minorities and farmers are the only groups legally exempt from the rule nationwide (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/13/06). Wen said the country "will adhere to the basic policy of family planning with improved services and stronger leadership" (AP/International Herald Tribune, 12/27/06). Wen called for strengthening family planning programs among migrant workers and covering birth control costs for low-income families. He also called for extending rewards and subsidies for families in rural areas, where he said it is important to maintain a low birthrate. State Councilor Hua Jianmin at the conference said local governments should provide migrant workers with the same no-cost birth control programs that are provided to residents. Hua also said that sex-selective abortions in the country would be punished and that gender equality and birth control policies would be enforced (Xinhua/China Daily, 12/27/06). According to government statistics, about 117 boys are born for every 100 girls born in China, compared with an average of between 104 to 107 boys per 100 girls in industrialized countries (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/10/06).

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