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China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) does not have a second child deposit policy or is collection such kind of fees. Officials of the commission spoke on Sunday to dispel rumors over the alleged collection.
NHFPC made the clarification after there was a surge in complaints on social media site Sine Weibo that local marriage registry offices were collecting the second child deposit, costing 1,000 yuan ($155) to 8,000. The complainants said that they were promised the refund of the deposit after the birth of the second infant as part of the country’s two-child policy which started on Jan. 1, 2016.
The fee is allegedly collected on newly married couple in 2016 by marriage registry offices in Liaoning. Jiangsu and Shandong Provinces. But Hudu Media debunked the reports as unfounded speculations.
China started loosening the one-child policy in 2013, but by late 2014, married couples applying to have a second child reached only 804,000 as of September 2014, less than half the expected 2 million couples, according to a statement from the NHFPC, reported The Wall Street Journal.
When Beijing announced the change in policy in 2013, businesses anticipated a baby boom, causing a spike in the shares of baby formula makers and other infant-related businesses. However, the boom did not happen as fewer couples showed they want another child, surprising the NHFPC that wants to have more children as China’s population ages.
Among the factors cited for the lack of interest among Chinese couples of expanding their families are the spiraling cost of living, focus on higher education and better employment migration opportunities for smaller families.
Wang Feng, demographer, describes the numbers as “way, way off the mark,” because less than 7 percent of the estimated 11 million Chinese couples eligible to add one more child applied.
