Study On The Diversities Of Chinese Fertility Policy

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, our fertility policy has experienced the process of preparation, formation, tightening, establishment and legalization. The implementation of the one-child policy, created a historic transformation in population reproduction types, it alleviated the pressure of population growth on resources and environment effectively, and greatly improved the quality of the population, also created a long "demographic dividend period" for economic development.Under the guidance of national fertility policy, different provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities design the distinctive fertility policies which were more local and adaptable according to their own situations. Those policies constructed the basic diversity framework. Based on the needs of stability of current fertility policy, convergence with the local legislations, and attending to some special needs of the national minorities, current ‘Population and Family Planning Law’ consistently acknowledge all those diversities of fertility policy.Overall, China’s fertility policy got the characteristics as ’binary between urban and rural’ and ‘multivariant between regions’. The diversities of fertility policy mainly reflected in the numbers, times and intervals, fertility behavior managements, preferential treatments, social security and illegal reproduction responsibility, etc. First of all, different families can have different number of children based on their different living places, nationalities, occupations and overseas relationships. Secondly, late marriage late childbirth polices and childbirth interval policies are varied from place to place. Thirdly, in the management of fertility behaviour, one child birth is always using licensing system, registration system or postpartum birth certificate system as management mechanism. Second child birth control is using authorizing system except for some provinces which implement no birth control policy. There are huge differences between different provinces on such respects: late marriage late childbirth rewards, woman’s fertility treatment, one child birth award and economic help for rural single child families and etc. There are also huge differences exist in subjects, objects, standards and procedures of collection of social maintenance fees. The competent authorities shall impose necessary administrative and disciplinary sanctions on those who have violated the one child policy. For those national personnel, violating one child policy will not only receive administrative sanctions, but also shall pay for the social maintenance fees. We could say that fertility policy diversities exist in every process of population reproduction.Diversities of fertility policy arose many problems, those diversities have negative impacts on population change and family planning management. First of all the conflict between diversity of fertility policy and equality of fertility right mainly reflect in inequality of child number, birth time, support right and legal responsibility and etc, which cause the disunity of fertility right and obligation. Secondly, some regulations, such as birth number, birth time and intervals, birth behavior management, illegal birth responsibility are conflict with the ‘Constitution’, and the ‘Population and Family Planning Law’. Authorizing by administrative regulations or local regulations go against with the ‘Legislation Law’. Thirdly, diversity of fertility policy may cause gender discrimination. Diversity of fertility policy also had negative impact on child number, sex ratio at birth, population quality. The reform of household register system brings impact to current fertility framework, cause so many problems to fertility management. Regional diversities of fertility policy were the main cause of birth immigration phenomenon and levy immigration phenomenon.As the change of population development situation, it is imperative to adjust the fertility policy. Third Plenary Session of the 18 th Central Committee decided to allow two-child fertility policy for couples where either the husband or the wife is from a single-child family, and improve the family planning policy for the aim of long-term balanced population development. This is the first step of china’s population policy adjustment. Fifith Plenary Session of the 18 th Central Committee came up with the idea to allow one couple to have two children, with the foundation of unwaveringly adhere to the basic state policy of family planning. We can be sure that a more loose and reasonable fertility policy will promote the population long-term balanced and healthy development of or population.Narrowing fertility policy diversity should be the goal to adjust fertility policy. Based on the population prediction and two child policy areas’ experience, implementation of the universal two-child policy is necessary and feasible. The universal two-child policy is not only solve the fertility problems caused by ’binary between urban and rural’ and ‘multivariant between regions’, but also stick to humanorientation, shows more fertility freedom.Based on the universal two-child policy, we need to reposition and revision the local fertility policies and regulations, such as ’The Constitution’, ‘The Population and Family Planning Law’, ‘The regulations on the administration of family planning technical services’ and etc. The general principle are as below: Putting fertility rights into the Constitution, to improve the effectiveness of the fertility rights protection level; Making fertility regulation, social support, illegal fertility issues responsibility as national regulations, improve institutional justice, facilitate unified fertility policy adjustment; Adjusting local rules and regulations to birth rewards and social security, as well as the protection of fertility right and reproduction health right; Abolishing family birth intervals, examination and approval administration and other unreasonable rules. Corresponding to this, the family planning administrative departments should shift the functions from controlling the population to providing more comprehensive services.