China Begins End To One Child Rule

China has begun ending its famous one child per family rule. The restriction will be lifted in five provinces next year with the rest of the country to slowly follow. But only two children will be allowed in the affected provinces, for now, and the new policy has an additional restriction.

In 2011, China will start pilot projects in five provinces, all of which have low birth rates, to allow a second birth if at least one spouse is an only child, says He Yafu, an independent demographer who is in close contact with policymakers. Beijing, Shanghai and four other provinces will follow suit in 2012, with nationwide implementation by 2013 or 2014, he says. "In the past, we only focused on slowing population growth," says Peng Xizhe, a professor at Shanghai's Fudan University. "It's much more complicated than we earlier thought." The National Population and Family Planning Commission, which enforces the "one-child policy," refused interview requests. The policy has prevented 400 million births in China, which has a population of 1.3 billion, according to the family planning agency. But a dramatic decline in birth rates and improved longevity over the past two decades have caused China's population to age at one of the fastest rates ever recorded, says the Population Reference Bureau, a demographic firm.

Female infanticide has left China with more than 30 million more boys than girls under the age of 20. Women who bear a second child have been subject to fines up to $30K.