The government in China plans to end its one-child per family policy and instead let families have two children.
中国政府计划停止其独生子女政策,允许每个家庭生育两个孩子。
The plan was announced Thursday after high-level political meetings in Beijing. The official Xinhua news agency says the country's top legislature must approve the proposal before it becomes law.
该计划于周四在北京高级政治会议上宣布。中国官方媒体新华社报道称,在它成为法律之前必须得到该国最高立法机关的批准。
A Chinese Communist Party statement gave a number of reasons for the change in policy. The statement said the change is meant to balance population development. It said the move also attempts to stop a declining birth rate and strengthen the country's work force.
中国共产党发表的一份声明给出了政策变化的几点原因。该声明表示,此举是为了平衡人口发展,以及试图阻止出生率下降和加强该国的劳动力。
China - the world's most populous country - launched the one-child policy in 1980. But the government permitted only a small number of couples to have two children. For example, some rural families were given approval to have two children.
中国这个全球人口最多的国家于1980年开始实施独生子女政策。但是政府允许少数家庭生育两个孩子。例如,一些农村家庭被批准生育两个孩子。
A total of 19 rural provinces have a partial two-child policy. That policy states if the first-born is a girl, a second child is permitted.
共有19个农业省份存在部分二孩政策。该政策规定,如果生育的第一个孩子是女孩,则允许生育第二个孩子。
In 2013, the Chinese government gave other couples a chance to have two children. Families could have two if one parent was an only child.
在2013年,中国政府给予另一些夫妻生育两个孩子的机会。如果父母一方是独生子女,则这个家庭可以生育两个孩子。
A teacher and population expert, Jiang Quanbao, explained how Chinese families will react to the policy.
教师和人口专家姜全保解释了中国家庭会如何对该政策做出反应。
"Too many young people in the cities are probably no longer interested in having a second child," he said. "People in rural farming villages may be more interested. But again, some of them are already allowed to have two children."
他说,“城市里很多年轻人可能不再有生育第二个孩子的兴趣,农村人可能更感兴趣。但是同样,他们中的一些人已经被允许生育第二个孩子。”
At the end of 2014, China had a population of 1.37 billion people. A total of 800 million of them are employed. But that job market population is expected to drop by 2050. With the two-child policy, an increase in births will ease the labor shortage, starting in 20 years.
2014年年底,中国拥有13.7亿人口,其中有8亿人就业。但是预计到2050年就业市场的人口会有所下降。通过二孩政策提高生育将能缓解20年内开始的用工荒。
I'm Anna Matteo.
我是安娜·马特奥。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利,未经授权请勿转载,违者必究!)
By VOA29 October, 2015
The government in China plans to end its one-child per family policy and instead let families have two children.
The plan was announced Thursday after high-level political meetings in Beijing. The official Xinhua news agency says the country's top legislature must approve the proposal before it becomes law.
A Chinese Communist Party statement gave a number of reasons for the change in policy. The statement said the change is meant to balance population development. It said the move also attempts to stop a declining birth rate and strengthen the country's work force.
FILE - A Chinese woman cuddles her child in Beijing. China announced Thursday it was ending its long-standing one-child policy and will now allow all couples to have two children. (2014 AP PHOTO)
China - the world's most populous country - launched the one-child policy in 1980. But the government permitted only a small number of couples to have two children. For example, some rural families were given approval to have two children.
A total of 19 rural provinces have a partial two-child policy. That policy states if the first-born is a girl, a second child is permitted.
In 2013, the Chinese government gave other couples a chance to have two children. Families could have two if one parent was an only child.
A teacher and population expert, Jiang Quanbao, explained how Chinese families will react to the policy.
"Too many young people in the cities are probably no longer interested in having a second child," he said. "People in rural farming villages may be more interested. But again, some of them are already allowed to have two children."
At the end of 2014, China had a population of 1.37 billion people. A total of 800 million of them are employed. But that job market population is expected to drop by 2050. With the two-child policy, an increase in births will ease the labor shortage, starting in 20 years.
I'm Anna Matteo.
Joyce Huang reported on this story for VOANews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
boost – v. to increase the force, power or amount of something
populous – adj. having a large population
province – n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into
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