China softens line on single child policy

Beijing, Feb.28 (ANI): China's single child policy was once a source of pride to government planners, with slogans reflecting strict family planning laws emblazoned on buildings across the country.

But reminders of the policy's harshest excesses are being scrubbed away in an effort to create a softer message, with officials phasing out older, threatening slogans in favour of more upbeat ones.

According to the People's Daily, the aim is to "make family planning work keep pace with the times and go deep among the masses".

The single child policy is unlikely to be rescinded soon, because doing so would cause uproar among those denied second children.

But it has frayed at the edges, with multiple groups, including ethnic minorities and the mothers of disabled children, being allowed a second child.

Family planners are also seeking subtler approaches, such as more teenage sex education.

Slogans from the early days of the policy, which was launched in 1979, stressed punishments for couples who had unplanned pregnancies.

Typical examples included: "If sterilisation or abortion demands are rejected, houses will be toppled, cows confiscated".

These slogans conveyed "coldness, constraint and even threats. They easily caused resentment in people and led to social tension", the People's Daily said.

A report entitled Outdoor Propaganda for Population and Family Planning has called for fresh slogans, the newspaper said.

Work to scrub away remnants of the old ones began in 2007. Recent slogans will also be reviewed for suitability. (ANI)

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