Having a second child has been a concern for many in China.

A recent investigation by the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission suggests that more local families welcome the new local policy of bearing a second child, according to The Beijing News September 20.

The new regulation on population and family planning in Shanghai was put into operation this April. Compared to the 1990 regulation, the new version omits the article about a mandatory four-year interval before having a second child, and applicants with a registered permanent address in the city (not just in the countryside) are now also eligible. In addition, the new policy is also open to remarried couples.

Those applying to bear a second child should meet one of the following standards: Married couples are both single children; the couple's first child is disabled; one party is disabled; one party has a registered permanent address in the countryside and one party is a singl child.

Remarried couples will only be considered for a second child if: One party has no dependents from a previous marriage and the other party has just one or two children from a previous marriage; if both parties have no dependents from a previous marriage and are both single children; or if both parties have a child from a previous marriage where at least one of the two children is disabled.

In China, family planning is a basic national policy that was proposed in the 1950s by renowned demographer Ma Yinchu. But during the Cultural Revolution, former chairman Mao Zedong renounced Ma's policy with the theory of power in numbers, calling on the nation to bear more children.

During the 1980 reforms, family planning made a comeback and families were instructed to have just one child. Since 2001, the one-child policy has been modified so that couples where both parties were single children could have a second child. Even so, Shanghai's popuation has experienced a negative growth for 10 consecutive years since 1993, with the problem of an aging population taking its toll.

Is the new policy a good idea? Will it produce any negative effects? Let's see whatthe public is saying:

Gui Shixun, president, Shanghai Demographic Society

It is good progress. The new regulation can take effect on controlling the population and the trend of aging. It shows the resolution of promoting a more active child-bearing policy in Shanghai.

The new policy has removed the four-year interval of bearing a second child and gives more people priority to have a second child, including those who are disabled and have a registered permanent address in the countryside. All this shows humanism.

Liu Dezhong, editor, People's Daily website

Now, the child-bearing rate in China has reached the same as that of developed countries. In a population report in China by the National Population and Family Planning Commission this year, the birthrate and natural rate of growth are declining every year in China. However, as the population base is large, the population is still increasing.

Many people have not completely changed the idea of bearing children, and the low birth level is not stable either. In this case, do you think it is appropriate to relax the control on the population increase? Can't this increase the pressures on employment and social security?

Duan Chengrong, professor, Demographic Institute, Renmin University, Beijing

The country once demanded each family have one child to control the increasing population. But, in fact, most families would like to have two children or even more, so they have to make sacrifices.

However, not all families have the same ability to bear these sacrifices. To protect such brittle families, the Shanghai government has relaxed the family-planning policy.

This new regulation still has strict demands on having a second child, and not many people can meet the demands. So, it will not increase the population much, and will not increase social pressures either.

Li Xi, postgraduate, Beijing University

I don't think the standard of having a second child is fair. Why should we give priority to families in the countryside? They can't get a good education, and having more children means suffering more pains.

On the contry, people in the city should be given the right to bear more children, no matter whether they are single children or not. Their genes are good and they have better living conditions. Society is progressing; we cannot place the hope for the future on 'seeds' that are not outstanding.

Gong Wen, joint venture employee, Beijing

I got married last week and my husband and I are both single children. The Beijing government allows couples that are both single children to have a second child, and I would like to do so.

Two children are better than one as it can avoid some problems. As the middle ages get older, the pressure of supporting them will be reduced. Having two children is also beneficial to their growth. Of course, if you want to have two children you should have the ability to foster them first, including a sense of responsibility and an economic base.

Gao Ji, engineer, China Academy of Building Research, Beijing

It seems that Shanghai has become a "special region for child bearing," but we know the right of bearing is equal. Must the aging problem of a city be alleviated by relaxinthe local child-bearing policy?

Japan plans to introduce immigrants to alleviate the aging problem. What about Shanghai and other similar cities? Why can't they introduce outside persons to solve the same problem?

Zhou Haiwang, vice president, Demographic Institute of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

Some people think Shanghai can't have the privilege of relaxing the family-planning policy. But, actually, other areas have also ade relevant modifications to family-planning regulations, such as Jilin Province several years ago.

Our country has a general family-planning policy to steady a low fertility rate to control the increase of population, and different regions have the right to make their own regulations on population according to different situations. There is no absolute fairness, or else we can do nothing on population in such a big country.

The Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission has disclosed this September that Shanghai was the first city to have the most characteristics of aging in China and would become a "gray-haired city".

People above 60 yrs of age count for 19 percent of the Shanghai population. So, the release of the new policy is necessary. Whether other cities should also relax their population policy depends on their development in the future.

The Chinese government once pronounced the country would not relax its policy on bearing a second child before 2010. I suggest the country may try to make this policy more flexible sometime between 2010 and 2020.

(Xinhua News Agency September 29, 2004)