MANY political advisers have proposed solutions to some emerging social problems in the city, such as those arising from the two-child policy and the prevalence of app-based bikes.

    A political adviser, Zang Chen, submitted a proposal about introducing a new policy to allow “the sharing of maternity leave between parents” in Shenzhen.

    Zang said that since the two-child policy took effect a year ago, many new mothers in Shenzhen have felt that they were discriminated against by employers after they were entitled to a longer maternity leave according to government regulations. He believed women shouldn’t have to take on all the burdens of child care, and their husbands should share the responsibility.

    “In Sweden, husbands can take a 90-day child care leave, which means new fathers can stay at home to take care of their newborns for three months,” Zang wrote in his proposal, adding that similar policies were introduced in Germany and Norway as well, which could reduce gender discrimination against women in the workplace.

    According to existing laws, new mothers in Guangdong can take between 178 to 223 days of maternity leave. Zang said that the new policy should allow new mothers to take a two-month maternity leave and share the remaining four or five months of child care leave with their husbands.

    He said that husbands could take half a month to a month of child care leave when the policy is first introduced, and that the number of days could be gradually increased, but husbands shouldn’t be allowed to give away their child care leave to their wives.

    Zeng Shaoqiang, another political adviser, voiced concerns about problems following the prevalence of bicycle rental apps in the city. In his proposal, Zeng pointed out four main problems with app-based bikes, including users’ random parking, improper use of bikes, operators’ poor maintenance of bikes and unfriendly traffic infrastructure for bicycle riders.

    “The traffic system in the city should transform from ‘automobile-friendly’ to ‘bicycle-friendly’ by increasing the number of dedicated bicycle lanes,” he said, adding that the city’s transport department and app operators should analyze where and when bicycles are frequently used, and make sure cyclists have the right of way in such areas.

    He said that the government should designate parking areas for bicycles on the roadside and near existing and future Metro and bus stations. He said app operators should punish users for random parking, improper use or loss of bikes, and a bicycle user credit system should be set up to keep users’ inappropriate behaviors on file.

    (Zhang Yang)