Kathmandu, June 1. A meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held on Monday has decided that China will support couples deciding to having three children.

China had earlier scrapped its one-child policy in 2016, allowing couples to have two children.

The elderly population of China constituted 18.7 percent of the country’s total population in 2020. Ning Jizhe, head of the National Bureau of Statistics said that China’s increasing elderly population will reduce supply in the labor force while increasing the burden on families’ elderly care and the pressure on the supply of basic public services.

The census, that was conducted in late 2020 revealed that around 12 million babies were born, which was a significant decrease from the 18 million in 2016, and the lowest number of births recorded since the 1960s.

While Chinese media are applauding the new policy, international organizations such as Amnesty International have expressed their displeasure on the same. The organization has said that the government is violating people’s sexual and reproductive rights; adding that China should optimize the policy, rather than invading into people’s life choices and family planning decisions.

Earlier policies of China

In February, the Chinese Ministry of Education has announced a plan to increase aesthetic and physical fitness classes in schools across the nation. According to the Ministry’s official statement, the Government of China is concerned that the country’s male celebrities and idols no longer represent figures like “army heroes”.

The announcement has triggered a huge flood of criticisms and backfires. Feminist Experts argue that the plan has reflected traditional stereotypes and attitudes of “sexism” which is against gender equality and diversity. “The plan sees feminine as negative and dangerous to China,” said Feminist scholar Li Jun.

The media also reported that the child policies had encouraged for such discrimination between the genders.