Letters

Result of good move awaited

The family planning policy was modified in November allowing a couple to have a second child if the husband or wife (or both) was the only offspring of his/her parents. Some provinces and regions have already implemented the new policy, and others will start doing so soon.

The country followed the strict family planning policy, which allowed a majority of couples (especially in urban areas) to have only one child, for 30 years. Like their counterparts in many other Asian countries, Chinese people have had a preference for sons, which, combined with the strict family planning policy, was instrumental in creating an imbalanced gender ratio in the country. Therefore, the change in the family planning policy is deemed as a tool to correct the imbalanced gender ratio.