Help parents who've lost only child

The Beijing municipal commission of health and family planning has just announced that since Jan 1, 2014 Beijing has increased the financial aid to mothers aged above 49 years old who have lost their only child from 200 yuan ($35.6) to 500 yuan a month, and their husbands from 160 yuan to 400 yuan. The move not only reflects the Beijing municipal government's concern for this special group, but also sets a good example for other local authorities to follow.

The number of families that the mothers are over 49 but have lost their only child in China is about 1 million, with an additional 76,000 expected to join them every year. And experts estimate their number could cross 10 million by 2050.

Families that have lost their only child are a new demographic problem for China, complicated by the declining birth rate. This is a price society has to pay for the strict family planning policy, which allows most families to have just one child.