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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/28/chinas-one-child-policy-is-eased-in-greatest-reform-for-three-decades

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China's one-child policy is eased in greatest reform for three decades China's one-child policy is eased in greatest reform for three decades
(about 9 hours later)
China's top legislature has sanctioned the ruling Communist Party's decision to allow couples to have a second child if one parent is an only child, say state media. China on Saturday formally allowed couples to have a second child if one parent is an only child, the first major easing of its 3-decade-old restrictive birth policy.
It's the first major easing in three decades of the restrictive national birth planning policy. First announced by the ruling Communist Party's leadership in November, the decision was officially sanctioned by the standing committee of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Implemented about 1980, China's birth policy has limited most couples to only one child, but has allowed a second child if neither parent has siblings or if the first born to a rural couple is a girl. Implemented around 1980, China's birth policy has limited most couples to only one child, but has allowed a second child if neither parent has siblings or if the first born to a rural couple is a girl.
The official Xinhua News Agency said the standing committee of the National People's Congress approved a resolution on Saturday to formalise the party decision. Demographers and policy makers have estimated the easing would benefit some 15 million to 20 million Chinese parents mostly in cities and result in 1 million to 2 million extra births per year in the first few years, on top of the 16 million babies born annually in China. They say the easing is so incremental that the extra births are not expected to strain resources such as the health care and education.
It says the national lawmaking body has delegated the power to provincial people's congresses and their standing committees to implement the new policy. China has credited the restrictive policy with managing its population growth and improving the economy, but critics say it is a violation of human rights.
China is the world's most populous country with 1.35 billion people.
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