42,000 Beijing Couples Apply For Second Child, 811 Are Women Aged Above 41

By Niam Seet Wei BEIJING, June 16 (Bernama) -- Some 42,075 couples in Beijing have applied to have a second child as of May 31 after the capital city eased the controversial one-child policy in February last year, said the Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning. Among the applicants, 811 were women aged above 41, constituting about two per cent of the total applicants, a statement released on the commission's website showed. Some 22,114 applicants were women aged between 31 to 35, accounting for 57 per cent of the total number of applicants, followed by women aged between 26-30 (8897 cases and accounting for 22.93 per cent), women aged between 36-40 (6785 cases, accounting for 17.49 per cent), and women aged below 25 (191 cases or 0.49 per cent), it said. China announced the relaxation of the old one-child policy in November 2013 which allowed couples to have a second child, given either parent is an only child. The policy was put into effect in early 2014. Prior to this, only parents who are both single children were allowed to have a second child. The unpopular one-child policy which was first implemented in 1979 also led to massive abortions in the country. According to data released by the health ministry in March 2013, at least 336 million abortions had been carried out since 1971. The relaxation of the one-child policy is aimed at coping with a declining labour force and an ageing population in the country. --BERNAMA