China Announces One-child Policy, Labour Camp Reforms

[Turk]

China's top legislative committee has formally abolished the country's "re-education through labour" camps and approved a loosening of its one-child policy.

The decisions were taken by the standing committee of the National People's Congress, China's rubber-stamp parliament, at the conclusion of a six-day meeting, according to Xinhua news agency.

The approval to end the labour camps - introduced more than half a century ago - closes the curtain on a dark aspect of the country's modern history long-criticised by human rights groups and which Chinese authorities admit is no longer viable.

Chinese labour camps

Introduced in 1957 to handle minor offenders, such as drug offenders and petty criminals.

Offenders could be sentenced for up to four years in work camps without a trial.

Many prisoners face long days manufacturing goods or doing agricultural work.

The UN estimated the system held 190,000 people in 2009.

Critics say the camps are used to silence government critics.

After facing years of pressure to reform, the system is being scrapped.

The government says a new system will be unveiled by the year's end.

Source: AFP

China began re-education through labour in 1957 as a speedy way to handle petty offenders.

But the system - which allows a police panel to issue sentences of up to four years without trial - soon became rife with abuse.

State media have cited the development of China's legal system as making the camps "superfluous" with their "historical mission" having come to an end.

But campaigners have questioned whether the move to shutter the camps is simply a cosmetic change and are closely watching whether they are substituted with new forms of control.

The decisions came just days after the standing committee had expressed support for them and following promises by the ruling Communist Party at its Third Plenum meeting last month.

Legislative approval was formally required to put the changes into effect.

Child policy reforms fail to silence critics

One of the moves was to widen existing exceptions to the one-child policy to allow couples where either parent has no siblings to have two children.

The family planning policy was imposed more than three decades ago to prevent overpopulation in the world's most populous nation.

China argues the limit kept population growth in check and supported the country's rapid development that has seen it soar from mass poverty to become the world's second-largest economy.

One-child policy facts

Introduced in the late 1970s to avoid overpopulation.

Authorities say the policy prevented 400 million babies being born.

Non-compliance was punished with fines, and in some cases, forced sterilisation and late-term abortions.

Men now outnumber women six to five, due to social preferences for sons.

Under new law, couples can have two children if one of the parents is an only child.

Source: AFP

But enforcement of the policy has at times been excessive. The public was outraged last year when photos circulated online of a woman forced to abort her baby seven months into her pregnancy.

Now China faces looming demographic challenges, including a rapidly increasing elderly population, a shrinking labour force and male-female imbalances.

China's sex ratio has risen to 115 boys for every 100 girls, while the working population began to drop last year, Xinhua said earlier.

The birth rate has fallen to about 1.5 since the 1990s, well below the replacement rate, it added.

But while the loosening - estimated to apply to around 10 million couples - has been welcomed, critics say that the state has retained the principle of deciding itself how many children people should have.

The Third Plenum meeting has historically been an occasion for the ruling party to expand reforms, and was the first such gathering since Xi Jinping took over as head of the party in November last year as part of a once-a-decade change in power.

The party also pledged at the meeting to reduce the scope of the death penalty "step by step".

Changes to the household registration system and controls on the economy - by giving markets a "decisive" role in the allocation of resources - were also approved.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-28/an-china-social-reforms/5177120

Edited December 28, 2013 by Turk

[kn_andre]

People in Power Can Basically Do Whatever they want and Defend it with any Argument they Deem Necessary .. What a World we Live in Today .... Kudos for sharing Dear .... Cheers ..

[dMog]

they will still have labour camps...they will just be called something different...China has one of the worst human rights record in the world ...yet it has most favoured nation status in the USA...why because big business told the american governments they were going to make big $$$$$$ with china anyway so they better get the blessing of any party on power or else....China is all over Cuba right now like stink on crap...america is getting left out on all that $$$ too so does anyone else wonder when that stupid embargo will finally be lifted and BEFORE the chinese military gets any foothold in Cuba like the russians did