By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China –

China’s Communist Party has officially brought an end to its one-child policy and couples in China will now be permitted to have two children instead. Communist Party leaders announced the change on Thursday after the conclusion of a Central Committee summit.

The Central Committee, which is a policy-making government body, met this week to approve proposals for China’s five-year development plan set to be implemented in 2016. Xinhua, China’s state run news agency, issued a communiqué of the Central Committee meeting. In the communiqué, Xinhua reported that the Committee intends to counter the problems of its rapidly aging population and shrinking labor force by allowing couples to have two children instead of one.

The one-child policy was originally enacted in 1979 under Deng Xiaoping, leader of the Communist party at the time. In order to slow the population growth rate, China’s government implemented campaigns to ensure that couples that violated the policy would be punished. Over the years, punishments for couples who had more than one child ranged from fines and loss of employment to forced abortions and female infanticide.

The one-child policy succeeded in preventing an estimated 400 million births. The policy was implemented in urban areas, but those in rural areas had more leeway and often were allowed to have another child if their first child was female. Couples that were part of ethnic minorities in China were excluded from the policy.

The one-child policy has been eased to some extent in recent years. In 2013, the Communist Party approved a policy allowing couples to have two children if one spouse was an only child. Many couples who were eligible to have two children under the policy declined the opportunity due to concerns over the cost and difficulty of raising the child. Only about 12% of eligible couples applied with China’s government to have a second child.

China has a rapidly aging population and shrinking labor force in part because of its one-child policy. In 2014, China’s population reached around 1.37 billion, with one tenth aged 65 or over. Currently, an estimated 30% of China’s population is over age 50. The new policy is meant to help counter China’s labor force shortage and stimulate the economy with consumer spending.

The Chinese public’s reaction to the end of the one-child policy has been mixed. Many citizens interviewed by news sources stated that they were either reluctant to have another child or that they did not want a second child due to economic and social concerns. Others celebrated the change and expressed their intention to have another child.

Some human rights groups and critics say that China’s ending of the one-child policy does not go far enough. Groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have expressed concerns over China’s continued regulation of women and couples’ rights to have children.

The Central Committee’s communiqué also stated that China’s leadership will focus on the country’s growth by extending social security programs to more of the population, reinforcing environmental protection measures, eliminating poverty, and improving access to education.

For more information, please see:

BBC – China to End One-Child Policy and Allow Two – 29 October 2015

The Guardian – China Ends One-Child Policy After 35 Years – 29 October 2015

New York Times – China to End One-Child Policy, Allowing Families Two Children – 29 October 2015

Voice of America – In China, Mixed Reaction to Two-Child Policy Shift – 29 October 2015