China will expand the special subsidy program for rural parents
aged 60 and above who have followed the nation's family planning
policy after more than two years' trial, according to a report
released by the National Population and Family Planning
Commission.
The special subsidy system grants rural parents aged 60 and
older a government subsidy of at least 600 yuan (US$77) each year,
if they have only one child, or have two daughters.
More than 1.35 million aged rural parents have already benefited
from the subsidy system, which has been tried in more than 10
provinces since 2004, according to the report.
The report suggested that the country should extend the subsidy
system to the whole country to cover 650,000 more qualified
parents, as a way to improve their living conditions, and also as
an incentive for younger parents to exercise birth control.
"It's time the subsidy system covered the whole country," said
the report, pointing out that the annual cost of the subsidy system
-- 1.2 billion yuan -- is modest compared to the government's
annual fiscal revenues of 3 trillion yuan.
Average annual incomes in China's rural areas have grown at
double-digit rates over the last three years but are still only
about 3,300 yuan (about US$425).
Formulated in the early 1970s, China's family planning policy
encourages late marriages and late childbearing, and limits most
urban couples to one child and most rural couples to two.
The policy has helped the country reduce its population by more
than 400 million.
But China now has a dramatically unbalanced sex ratio of 118
boys for 100 girls mainly due to Chinese people's traditional
preference for boys, which reflects an inadequate social security
network in rural areas.
(Xinhua News Agency February 11, 2007)