{From street corners to social media, Chinese have hailed the ending of the country’s one-child policy — but it seems few rushed to their bedrooms to celebrate.}
“I want to have a second child but I won’t,” said Wendy Zhang, a 33-year-old pharmacist in Xi’an. “We both have to work, so no one would have time to take care of our children and our life would be too stressful.”
China announced that all couples would now be eligible for a second child on Thursday, reversing a controversial 35-year-old policy, but it seems that it may not have an immediate impact.
Some 100 million couples are expected to benefit from the relaxation of the rule, but of the more than 50,000 people responding to an Internet poll posted by a journalist on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, only 20% said they both wanted, and could afford, a second child.
It’s a sentiment shared by Zhou Juan, a 28-year-old vegetable seller.
“My kid is only three and I have spent at least 80,000 yuan raising her.”
But for others the policy shift simply came too late.
“I would want three kids if I had been allowed! But it was in the 1980s — raising kids was much easier then,” said Tian Xiling, a retired worker.
“Now my son can’t afford a second child. Food, clothing, education… all cost a fortune today.”
CNN
Leave a Reply