World / China allows couples to have three children

BEIJING: China’s ruling Communist Party said on Monday that it would allow all married couples to have three children, ending a two-child policy that has failed to boost the country’s declining birthrates or address an impending demographic crisis.

The move reflected concerns that the rapidly rising number of elderly in China could exacerbate a shortage of workers and strain the economy in the near future. The party made the announcement after a meeting by the Politburo, a top decision making body.

It said the decision would “improve our co untry’s population structure and help implement a national strategy to actively respond to the aging population”. China’s family planning restrictions date to 1980, when the party first imposed a “one-child” policy to slow population growth and bolster the economic boom that was then just begin ning.

In 2013, as Chinese officials began to understand the implications of the country’s aging population, the government allowed parents who we of the population, by 2025, according to the government.

The party’s announcement is likely to revive longstanding complaints about the government’s invasive control over women’s bodies in China. On Weibo, users were quick to post remarks criticising the move as ineffective.

“Don’t they know that most young people are already tired enough just trying to feed themselves?” wrote one user, pointing to a common lament about the rising costs of living.