Stick to family planning

Family planning as a basic national policy must remain unchanged if China is to keep its population within 1.36 billion by the end of 2010 and within 1.45 billion by the end of 2020. So couples should continue to be encouraged to have only one child, although an online survey shows that about 60 percent of those polled prefer two children.

It is not accurate to interpret the family planning as a one-child policy because it makes a distinction between urban and rural areas and between different regions. Husbands and wives who are both the only children are also eligible to have two children.

China's family planning policy has prevented more than 400 million births in the past three decades. Given the increasing population pressure on global resources and the environment, this has not only relieved China of the great burden on its resources, it has also contributed to the world's economic and social development at large.