Once a one-child-policy wonder, which Chinese city is now urging party members to have second baby?

Local government in city of Yichang, Hubei, calls on young comrades to ‘work on themselves’ to have two children

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Twin boys hold China's national flags on the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:45pm, 22 Sep 2016Updated: 10:55pm, 22 Sep 2016

A Chinese city once lauded for being its success in implementing China’s controversial one-child policy, is now urging its communist party members to have a second baby, after the rule was scrapped at the start of the year.

“Young comrades should start from themselves, while elderly comrades should educate and supervise their own children,” the health and family planning commission of Yichang in central Hubei province, said in a public letter on its website.

The letter was addressed to all Communist Party and Communist Youth League members in the city who work for the government or public institutions such as schools and hospitals. The city has a population of some 4 million residents.

Grandmothers chat as they take care of their grandchildren on a street in Xiangfan, Hubei province. Photo: Reuters

Fertile young couples were encouraged to “work on themselves” to have a second baby, and those already too old for another child should “teach and urge” their children to have two offspring, according to the letter.

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