Is the Chinese Family Planning Program "Tightening Up"?

Abstract

The Chinese official policies on family planning (FP) have not been tightened at least for the time being as compared with the period 1984-86. The messages from the 1988 meetings of the Population Advisory Committee can be summarized as follows: 1) while the population policy should emphasize the critical importance of birth control it should also be acceptable to the majority of the peasants and the workstyle of propaganda and education workers should be adapted more closely to the needs of local populations; 2) the FP policies -- including the provincial regulations which were revised after 1984 in most cases to broaden the categories of couples who qualify for a 2nd child--should be continued. In rural areas couples whose 1st child is a daughter are allowed to a 2nd birth with spacing; 3) the increase in birth rates in 1986-87 was a result of the combined effects of changes in the age structure decentralization of the economic and administrative system and declines in the ages at marriage and childbearing; 4) the efficiency of the FP network should be strengthened by improving the workstyle of FP cadres and increasing the quality and quantity of FP personnel among other means. The current official policies on FP appear to have been relaxed. For example the policy of allowing rural only-daughter-households to have a 2nd birth was introduced in 1984 in limited areas only and was officially extended to all rural areas in the 1st half of 1988. It is true that the importance of population control and efficiency of implementation of FP is being re-emphasized: however this should not be regarded as evidence of a shift to a harder line policy.