Newlywed couples stroll past Tianamen after a group marriage ceremony. (Photo : Reuters)
The National Health and Family Planning Commission has announced that it will not be making adjustments to the family planning policy this year as the agency will not set up pilot zones that allow couples to have a second child.
Ma Xu, head of the commission's Science and Technology Research Institute and a deputy to the 12th National People's Congress, made the pronouncement during a conference with members of the media on March 3, Tuesday.
Ma told the Beijing News that the government has documented nearly 470,000 babies who were born as second child in 2014. This occurred after couples were allowed to have a second child if either parent is an only child, the report said.
The official said, however, that the new figure does not reflect the results of the new policy, as authorities will continue to monitor the effects in the coming years.
In January, Mao Qun'an of the commission said that the government is expecting that the number of couples who will apply for second child this year could be lower than last year's number.
The report said that proposals asking for adjustment to the present family planning policy were submitted during the two sessions conducted this year.
The two proposals came from Wang Ming, a public administration professor at Tsinghua University and a member of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
One of the proposals suggested that the government should encourage couples to have a second offspring, and the other proposal calls for the government to provide subsidy to families who are already rearing a second child.
