The generation of "only" children numbers 90 million. China's one-child policy since the end of 1970s has created a generation of "only" children that now numbers 90 million, Zhao Baige, vice minister for China's National Population and Family Planning Commission said Friday. The one-child policy has helped prevent 400 million births - about the size of the US and Mexican populations combined - and aided China's rapid economic development. Despite that, Zhao said surveys have shown that 60 percent of Chinese would prefer to have two children, but that the government has no plan to relax birth limits. Critics say the policy has led to forced abortions and a dangerously imbalanced sex ratio due to a traditional preference for male heirs, which has prompted countless families to abort female fetuses in hopes of getting boys. Zhao blamed the imbalanced sex ratio on a traditional preference for boys and the availability of gender testing of fetuses with sonograms. She said the government was addressing the problem with education, subsidies and strict regulation of sonograms. In 2005, the government began giving US$150 annual pensions to older couples with a daughter as a reward for complying with the policy and as an incentive to others to have just one girl baby. Government statistics show that 117 boys are born for every 100 girls in China, well above the average for industrialized countries of between 104 and 107 boys for every 100 girls. Experts have said the gender imbalance resulting from sex-selective abortions and other practices could have dangerous social consequences due to anticipated shortages of marriageable young women. 點擊查看更多雙語新聞 (AP)

國家人口和計劃生育委員會副主任趙白鴿上周五介紹，自上世紀70年代末實行計劃生育政策以來，我國的獨生子女數量已達到9000萬。 計劃生育政策使我國的人口出生數減少了4億，這個數字相當于美國和墨西哥的人口總數。同時，這一政策對我國經濟的快速發展也起到了一定作用。 盡管如此，趙主任說，調查顯示60%的中國人還是想要兩個孩子，但目前政府還沒有放開生育政策的計劃。 批評人士認為，計劃生育政策使很多具有“重男輕女”傳統思想的家庭進行了選擇性人工墮胎，由此造成了我國男女比例的嚴重失調。 趙主任說，傳統的“重男輕女”思想和B超胎兒性別鑒定技術是造成這一問題的主要根源。她說目前政府正在通過教育、補貼和禁止（注：非醫學用）胎兒性別鑒定等辦法來解決這一問題。 為了鼓勵人們只生一個孩子，2005年政府對響應政策、只生一個女兒的老年夫婦進行了2000元人民幣的養老金獎勵。 據政府的有關統計數據顯示，目前我國男女出生的性別比例為117:100，大大高于工業化國家104:100至107:100的平均水平。 據專家分析，由選擇性墮胎等行為造成的男女比例失調將會導致達到適婚年齡的年輕女性緊缺，而這會對社會產生嚴重危害。 （英語點津姍姍編輯）