China's new three-child policy draws scepticism, cost questions
- 4 years ago
China's decision to allow families to have up to three children was met with scepticism on Tuesday, with doubts expressed on social media whether it would make much difference, and calls for details on what promised "supportive measures" will include.
On Monday, Beijing announced that it was lifting the two-child limit in an effort to encourage more child-bearing, weeks after census data confirmed rapid aging and a decline in fertility that puts China on track to see its population, the world's largest, begin shrinking. read more
The major policy shift will include supportive measures "conducive to improving our country's population structure," the official Xinhua news agency said.
"I don't quite understand. What's the meaning of supportive measures?", asked one Weibo user in a post that received more than 128,000 thumbs-up, the most popular comment on Xinhua's post on the three-child policy.
Social media participants cited the high cost of raising children in urban China, where housing can be expensive and children undergo private tuition in addition to public schools amid a fiercely competitive education system, as deterrents to having kids.
Source: Reuters
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