Easing burden of care

A ranking official from the National Population and Family Planning Commission has revealed that more aid will be offered to care for the elderly in families that have only one child. This is the right thing to do and the earlier the policy is implemented, the better.

The nationwide policy that limits most, but not all, couples to one child was initiated in 1980, and an increasing number of single children are having to shoulder the burden of care for both their parents and grandparents when they become adults. Young couples not only have to support their own children, they also have to care for both sets of parents and even grandparents.

Without the introduction of this policy, China's total population would have increased to more than 1.7 billion.