This Day, That Year

Item from Jan 26, 1983, in China Daily: Textile workers with one child taking part in a publicity event in Zibo, Shandong province, as part of the nationwide family planning campaign.

Late last year, authorities rolled out the latest family planning policy by encouraging families to have a second child, to help the country achieve a more balanced population structure and ease the shortage of labor.

The number of newborns fell to 16.55 million last year, 320,000 fewer than the previous year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The change indicated the downward demographic trend and aging population, analysts said.