chinadaily.com.cn - 29 Dec 2006

Press excerpts

Opening China: Changed Regulations on Foreign Media

Foreign journalists 'welcome in China'
New regulations for foreign media may be prolonged

As of December 1, 2006, foreign journalists in China may interview anybody with the consent of the interviewee only - the scope is not only sports but also politics, the economy, society and other fields. The new rules expire on October 17, 2008 (after the Olympics) but might be extended. They replace restrictions that have been in place from 1990 (when Regulations on the Supervision of Foreign Journalists and Resident Foreign News Organs were issued).

There are currently 606 resident journalists from 319 foreign news organizations of 49 countries working in China. About 3,000 to 5,000 foreign journalists visit China each year.

"I'd very much like to go to rural areas in China because
farmers' issues are the biggest challenge for China."
Joanna Brent, spokeswoman of the WHO China Office

Nouveau Rich Undermining Family Planning

Are the rich challenging family planning policy?
China adheres to family planning policy: premier

According to the family planning introduced in the 1980s:
- An urban couple can have a second child, if both husband and wife are the only children.
- Farmers can have a second if their first child is a girl.
This regulation helped Asia's biggest economy reduce its population by 300 million.

- Those who have second children are fined, but for the rich, the fines are more than affordable:
A shoe factory boss who has a net value of 14 million yuan had to pay some 60,000 yuan (US7, 500$) in fines for his second child, Web portal sohu.com reported.
- Returned overseas Chinese can have the second child.
- For Shanghai's emerging bourgeois, it's popular for the mothers to give birth to their second children in foreign countries, thereby securing a visa for them.
- Gender identification for non-medical purposes will be severely punished and policies advocating the rights of girls and women as well as gender equality and birth control will be carried out.
- Countryside is the priority and the most difficult task of family planning, where maintaining a low birth rate is crucial.
- Family planning among migrant workers needs to be strengthened as well.