Opinion | Mainland parents still willing to exploit loopholes in one-child policy
Despite efforts to discourage them, some mainland parents are as eager as ever to exploit loopholes in the rules
How much are you willing to pay to have a second child with Hong Kong residency rights or American citizenship? That's the question Shenzhen authorities asked the city's residents when they introduced heavy fines this year for those who exploit loopholes in the mainland's one-child policy and give birth overseas.
Since Tuesday, Shenzhen permanent residents have faced fines of at least 219,000 yuan (HK$270,000) for giving birth to a second baby, whether in Hong Kong, the US or another foreign country. The amount is six times the city's average annual income last year but it can increase sharply if the parents' annual income is higher.
Rich couples earning more than 73,000 yuan a year will be required to pay an extra amount equal to twice the difference. For example, a couple earning 500,000 yuan a year could be fined 1.07 million yuan for their second child, including the basic 219,000 yuan fine and 854,000 yuan in additional fines.
If the parents evade the fines, the child won't be able to get a hukou (right to residency) in Shenzhen. On the mainland, children without a hukou can't receive public education or enjoy any social welfare benefits. The China Economic Weekly estimates there are 13 million yuan mainlanders without a hukou - many of them second or third children.
But will the new regulation really be able to stop mainland mothers giving birth in Hong Kong or overseas? The answer is probably not.
Shenzhen mothers planning to give birth to a second child overseas say they hope to avoid the one million yuan fine by getting an unemployment certificate, changing their permanent residency to another city, or waiting until the national census for a reduced fine, often offered to encourage families to report the true number of people in a household, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported last week.
"I heard that my colleague spent only 10,000 yuan to get her second child permanent residency in their hometown," a woman about to give birth to her second child told the newspaper. "I'm planning to get an unemployment certificate to avoid the one million yuan fine."