30 years of family planning policy
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He Weiqiong, 52, along with her two bothers and one sister, had a family reunion in their hometown in southern Guangdong Province last week to celebrate the mid-autumn festival.
Though He was happy to be with her 80-year-old mother and large family, she still felt "empty" as her 28-year-old daughter, who works in eastern Jiangsu Province, could not come home to join them.
Like most of her peers, He has only one child as her family was not affluent enough in the 1980s when the daughter was born.
"As I only have one child, my daughter's education and quality of life can be ensured in a family that had just made ends meet," she said.
But after her daughter was married last year, He became a little worried.
"My daughter and son-in-law are both only children, so they may feel it is difficult to take care of their four parents when they are busy with work."
She said the family planning policy, sometimes known as one-child policy, appears as two sides of a coin -- on one side, it suited the national situation at that time, as China is a country with a huge population and uncontrolled population expansion is worrisome; but on the other, a single child may feel lonely and the elderly might be more happy if they see many children and grandchildren sit together and carry on the family line.
Saturday marks the 30th anniversary of China's one-child policy. The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee issued an open letter on Sept. 25, 1980, calling for CPC and Communist Youth League members to have only one child in a bid to improve lives.
The letter said, for families, more children would consume more money and food and hinder the improvement of living standards, and for the country, the population growth would affect the "accumulation of funds" for the nation's modernization drive.
It noted, however, that "the population growth problem may relax in three decades."
Additionally, the one-child policy does not cover ethnic minorities and farmers whose first child is a girl. Also, in some regions it was later adjusted to exempt couples who are, themselves, both only children.
Xia Haiyong, director of the Institute for Population Research at Nanjing University said about 400 million births were prevented after three decades of the implementation of the policy, which contributed to the increase of China's per capita GDP.
Less population also means more educational opportunities. Latest statistics show people above 15 years of age receive an average of 8.3 years of schooling, higher than the average level for developing countries.
