The period to come will usher in "four peaks" in the development of population in China, says Zhang Weiqing, director of the State Family Planning Commission October 6 in Beijing. The "four peaks" are in total population, in age group of labor force, the aged people and, floating and immigrating population.

In China, there still exist many problems between the population and family planning, indicates Zhang Weiqing and they are made to reveal in the following "Five Not".

7 First of all, it shows an unsteady low birthrate. Because the low birthrate in China is realized by means of administrative control under the conditions, in which we've seen an underdeveloped social productive force, an unhealthy social insurance system and a not very high level of culture for the broad masses of the people.

There still exists a certain gap between the wishes for childbearing of the masses of the people and the family planning policy. After practicing the family planning, they are confronted with many difficulties in production and living, which they themselves are unable to overcome, and so the low birthrate is faced with a threat of bouncing up.

7 Secondly, it embodies in the unbalanced development from region to region: The city and developed areas have already witnessed a very low birthrate with some areas seeing population increase in the negative. But in the rural areas, especially in those areas of the west the birthrate remains relatively high and it is still difficult to carry out the work of family planning there. In quite a few poverty-stricken areas the situation of "the poorer the more births and the more births the poorer" remains by and large unchanged.

7 Thirdly, the work efficiency is not sufficiently high as a whole. There are no enough administrative setups to handle the work of family planning and population so as to meet the needs as required by the system of socialist market economy.

7 Fourthly, the family planning contingents are not qualified enough to cater to the needs as required by the new situation and new tasks. In a number of places the family planning work remains a forced one by exercising administrative orders. In face of the increasing needs of the masses they are unable to provide service or it is often popular to see them doing a bad job and no sound conception can be found as of offering good service to the people there.

7 And fifthly, blind optimism and a passive feeling of fearing difficulties still rest in the minds of some Party and government cadres and family planning workers in quite a few regions of the country.

This is addressed by Zhang Weiqing at the national council meeting of the 2nd session of the 5th conference of the Chinese Family Planning Association held on Thursday. As the aforesaid problems constitute the greatest hindrance to the maintaining of the low birthrate the population and family planning are still the "No.1 difficult job" to deal with in the new era.

(People's Daily December 9, 2001)