Anne Zhang
zhangy49@gmail.com
SHENZHEN couples now can have two children if one of the parents is an only child, according to a policy adopted Thursday by the city’s health and family planning commission.
Family planning officials said the city will start accepting second-child applications from qualified couples Friday, following Thursday morning’s implementation of the policy by Guangdong’s provincial family planning authority.
If either parent is an only child and a couple wants to have a second child, the couple can apply at the subdistrict family planning office where the mother has registered her permanent residency, according to the policy. Only after receiving approval can they bear the second child.
Mothers already pregnant with a second child must re-apply for permission before June 30. If they give birth to their second child without getting permission before June 30, they will face a fine of up to 2 percent of the social compensation fee, officials said. The social compensation fee last year was about 240,000 yuan (US$39,055).
The policy’s local adoption was good news for many Shenzhen residents.
He Haitao, 29, said he was happy to learn about the new policy. Although He isn’t yet a father, he said he and his wife will be more than happy to have two children in the future.
“I’m an only child and I’ve experienced the loneliness an only child has to bear in childhood,” He said. “I don’t want my children to bear it.”
But Ian Wang, a 29-year-old engineer in Bao’an District, said he doesn’t plan to think about having a second child for the next few years, even though he is qualified under the policy.
Wang told Shenzhen Daily that he is busy with work and wants to spend his limited spare time with his 18-month-old daughter. He said he might consider having a second child in a few years.
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