Chinese Couples Apply To Have Second Child

Tired of the law that forbids them from having more than 1 child, more than 30,000 couples based in Beijing, the capital of China, besieged the office of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning, applying to be allowed to have a second child.

The Chinese authority had, in February, 2014, eased the one-couple, one-child, policy but it was still being practiced in the capital but couples based in the city decided to take it upon themselves to force the hands of the authority.

Zhong Dongbo, the Deputy Head of the Commission, said in Beijing that out of the 30,305 applicants, 28,778 had been approved.

He said the number was, however, lower than the 50,000 expected, adding that many couples who wanted to have second child chose not to have them this year, but this does not mean that they won’t have them in future.

"Maybe they’re just not ready, maybe it is due to economic cost or time cost or they are contented with one child."

Dongbo said Beijing was prepared for an increase of 50,000 births every year while extra 1,000 beds would be arranged in Beijing hospitals within three years.