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Recently, the Sichuan authorities in China announced that birth registration and marriage restrictions have been abolished, which has aroused concern and heated discussions. The official response pointed out that the new regulation is not to encourage illegitimate births, but to protect the rights and interests of the “unmarried first pregnancy” group.
Population experts told the BBC that the new rules are an improvement in respect of people’s reproductive rights, but will have little effect on improving China’s sluggish birth rate.
new rule
The official website of the Sichuan Provincial Health and Health Commission issued the “Sichuan Provincial Birth Registration Service Management Measures”. The first thing that attracted wide attention was that the birth registration removed the restriction on whether to marry, shifted the center of birth registration to the birth intention and birth results, returned to population monitoring and Reproductive services are standard; secondly, restrictions on the number of births have been abolished, and all citizens who have children must go through birth registration.
Officials confirmed that the measures will come into effect on February 15 this year and will be valid for five years.
According to the Sichuan authorities, improving the birth registration system is an inherent requirement for implementing the three-child birth policy and supporting measures.
The Sichuan Health Commission also stated that the purpose of registering births is to ensure better maternal and child services and to ensure that relevant departments can effectively monitor the local population. The “Measures” are not intended to encourage unmarried people to have children, but to protect the rights and interests of “unmarried pregnant” people, allowing them to enjoy some maternal and child health care services following registering their births.
According to Chinese media reports, Guangdong, Anhui, Shaanxi and other provinces have relaxed the requirements for birth registration in their birth registration methods, and do not limit whether they are married or not.
Yi Fuxian, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin in the United States who has long been concerned regarding China’s population issues, told BBC Chinese that in the past there were “birth quotas” in the policy: one child, two children, and three children. “Now it is equivalent to completely canceling the ‘quota’, so there is no need to presuppose marriage. It is mainly in line with international standards and respects the right of illegitimate births, but it does not mean encouraging illegitimate births.”
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He also pointed out that birth registration is not a registered permanent residence, and birth registration can enjoy medical insurance and perinatal maternal and child health care services.
Zhang Jing, deputy director of Beijing Lianggao Law Firm and deputy director of the Marriage and Family Professional Committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association, told the Chinese media that this regulation can protect the legal rights of single mothers in childbearing to a certain extent. , With birth registration, you can apply for a birth certificate, and you can enjoy maternity allowance and maternity leave.
Can it increase fertility?
On January 17 this year, China’s National Bureau of Statistics stated that China’s 2022 birth population will be 9.56 million and the death population will be 10.41 million, a decrease of 850,000 from the end of the previous year. This is the first time that China’s population has declined since the Great Leap Forward movement led by Mao Zedong in the early 1960s.
In August last year, 17 departments including China’s National Health Commission issued a number of measures to support childbearing, covering housing, child care and other aspects, hoping to use policies to drive the sluggish birth rate. But those measures don’t appear to be working so far.
Against the backdrop of a low fertility rate, Sichuan’s newly introduced regulations have also been interpreted by many netizens as saying that the government is “promoting birth” by encouraging unmarried children.
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Against the backdrop of a low fertility rate, Sichuan’s newly introduced regulations have also been interpreted by many netizens as saying that the government is “promoting birth” by encouraging unmarried children.
Weibo netizen “Nan Nan’s Orchard” said: “In order to promote birth, I started to use everything.”
Weibo netizen “LeoBarca” said: “I have always wanted to have a second child, but conditions do not allow me to have one. I haven’t raised my salary for ten years, and it’s still falling! What do you want me to do!”
Yi Fuxian pointed out that reproductive rights alone are not enough, they also need to be guaranteed. Just as it is not enough for a baby to have the right to live, it also needs careful nurturing to grow up.
He believes that in the future, China’s fertility rate will be difficult to reverse, and the proportion of illegitimate births will not be high.
“In China’s current reproductive environment, the people do not talk regarding ‘living’. The disposable income of residents only accounts for 44% of GDP, while the international community accounts for 60% to 80%. The total value of China’s housing market is 4 times of GDP, while the United States is only 1.6 times, Japan is 2.1 times, and the cost of education is also extremely high.” Yi Fuxian said, “A two-parent family cannot afford to support two children, let alone a single mother.”