Opinion: 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.

Since 2003 the authorities have been providing special financial aid to parents who have lost their only child. Initially, such parents were paid 100 yuan a month per person, which has increased over time.

By providing additional financial aid to such parents, the Beijing local government has also deepened the reform in level-to-level fiscal expenditure. The Beijing municipal government will account for the entire special financial aid to families that have lost their only child until the end of this year. From next year, it will pay 85 percent of the special financial aid while district authorities have to provide the rest. This arrangement reflects the joint responsibility of public finance to provide a better life for the needy by dividing the financial burden among different levels of governments.

Nevertheless, the special arrangement needs further improvement. First, the "special financial aid" in essence is compensation. One-child families are by nature risk families, mainly because of the strict family planning policy. And since the authorities are responsible for the risk, they are liable to pay compensation to the "victim" families. But the responsibility of paying compensation should also be shared by the grassroots governing bodies, and the amount should be in accordance with local fiscal conditions.