据
中国媒体报道，在一年一度的全国人大和政协会议期间，饱受争议的计划生育政策再次被提出来讨论。
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12月，北京街头，家长拉着童车。
计划生育政策限制大多数夫妻只能生一胎，但并非全部。批评人士说，该政策造成了严重的男女比例失衡，因为传统观念比较偏爱生男孩，并且快速老龄化的人口对中国长期经济增长构成威胁。
政府起初说该政策只会持续三十年，许多观察人士曾预计在去年该政策实施三十周年之际会予以审议。
然而，国家人口和计划生育委员会去年12月说，计划在未来五年内基本保持原计划生育政策不变，并且未表示五年后会是什么情况。一些官员仍将这些限制措施视为抑制人口增长的关键，从而控制失业和资源紧张状况。
长久以来，中国很多人口被允许免受该政策限制，包括许多农村家庭、少数民族和夫妻双方均为独生子女的家庭。
但大多数城镇家庭生第二胎仍需缴纳罚金。逃避罚款者不能为孩子登记户口，孩子无法享受包括公共教育和医疗在内的公共福利服务。
据中共党报《人民日报》人民网报道，其中正在考虑的一项提案是在全国范围内放开"二胎政策"。
该报道援引全国政协委员、人口资源环境委员会副主任王玉庆的话说，他认为二胎政策在2015之前可能会放开。
他还说，他认为放开二胎政策不会导致人口暴涨。
周二记者无法直接联系到王玉庆置评，国家人口计生委未对置评请求做出回应。
然而，其他中国专家说，他们预计，在本周进一步予以讨论后情况可能会更明晰。全国人大会议将于下周一闭幕。
Jeremy Page
（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）
China's controversial 'one-child' policy has once again come up for discussion during the annual meeting of the country's legislature and its top political advisory body, according to local media reports.
Demographers and economists have used the simultaneous meetings for several years to submit proposals for reviewing or relaxing the policy, which was introduced in 1980 to try to control China's population growth.
Critics say the policy--which limits most, though not all, couples to one child--has created a severe gender imbalance, because of a traditional preference for male offspring, and a rapidly aging population that threatens China's long-term economic growth.
The government originally said the policy would only last three decades, and many observers expected it to be reviewed around the time of its 30th anniversary last year.
However, the National Population and Family Planning Commission said in December it planned to keep the policy largely the same for the next five years, and hasn't indicated what might happen after that. Some officials still see the restrictions as key to holding down population growth, and therefore unemployment and strains on resources.
The policy has long allowed exemptions for significant portions of China's population, including many rural families, ethnic minorities and couples where both people are only children themselves.
But most families in urban areas still have to pay fines if they have more than one child. Those who dodge the fines can't register their children for public services, including state education and health care.
One proposal under consideration is to introduce a 'two-child' policy nationwide, according to a report on the website of the People's Daily, the Communist Party newspaper.
It quoted Wang Yuqing, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, or CPPCC--a powerful advisory body that is meeting this week alongside the annual session of China's legislature, the National People's Congress--as saying he thought there would be such a change by 2015.
Wang, who is a deputy director of the CPPCC's National Committee of Population, Resources and Environment, also said he didn't think such a move would lead to rapid population growth, according to the report.
Wang couldn't be reached directly for comment Tuesday, and the Family Planning Commission didn't respond to a request for comment.
However, other Chinese experts have said they expect a clearer picture could emerge after further discussion over the course of this week. The legislative session ends Monday.
Jeremy Page
Demographers and economists have used the simultaneous meetings for several years to submit proposals for reviewing or relaxing the policy, which was introduced in 1980 to try to control China's population growth.
Critics say the policy--which limits most, though not all, couples to one child--has created a severe gender imbalance, because of a traditional preference for male offspring, and a rapidly aging population that threatens China's long-term economic growth.
The government originally said the policy would only last three decades, and many observers expected it to be reviewed around the time of its 30th anniversary last year.
However, the National Population and Family Planning Commission said in December it planned to keep the policy largely the same for the next five years, and hasn't indicated what might happen after that. Some officials still see the restrictions as key to holding down population growth, and therefore unemployment and strains on resources.
The policy has long allowed exemptions for significant portions of China's population, including many rural families, ethnic minorities and couples where both people are only children themselves.
But most families in urban areas still have to pay fines if they have more than one child. Those who dodge the fines can't register their children for public services, including state education and health care.
One proposal under consideration is to introduce a 'two-child' policy nationwide, according to a report on the website of the People's Daily, the Communist Party newspaper.
It quoted Wang Yuqing, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, or CPPCC--a powerful advisory body that is meeting this week alongside the annual session of China's legislature, the National People's Congress--as saying he thought there would be such a change by 2015.
Wang, who is a deputy director of the CPPCC's National Committee of Population, Resources and Environment, also said he didn't think such a move would lead to rapid population growth, according to the report.
Wang couldn't be reached directly for comment Tuesday, and the Family Planning Commission didn't respond to a request for comment.
However, other Chinese experts have said they expect a clearer picture could emerge after further discussion over the course of this week. The legislative session ends Monday.
Jeremy Page
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