Quake families may have more children

2008-7-26

CHINA'S quake-hit Sichuan Province has passed a regulation to allow families who lost their children in the May 12 earthquake to have more children.

The rule, adopted by the standing committee of the Sichuan provincial legislative body, said a family who lost an only child, or in which the child was disabled, or a family with two children who were both disabled in the disaster, can have a baby.

A one-child family in which either the husband or wife was disabled, could also have a baby, according to the new rule.

"The adjustment is to effectively solve the practical difficulties of the families who have had members killed or injured in the May 12 Wenchuan quake," said Wang Yukun, standing committee deputy chairman.

"The move also reflects the principle of putting people first in the post-quake reconstruction," he said.

The Sichuan earthquake left nearly 100,000 people dead, missing or disabled. About 18,000 families lost children in the quake, according to a survey by Sichuan's population and family planning body.

In Deyang City, 74 percent of parents of child-bearing age who lost their children have considered having a child, according to the city's family planning authorities.

Even two to three days after the earthquake, some parents went to family planning authorities to consult on new birth policies.

Liu Jinliang, of Luocheng Village in Deyang, lost his 14-year-old daughter in the quake. His wife, Liu Tianjing, is often in tears over the loss of her daughter. "Only by having a child can a family be complete," he said. His wife added: "I am only 37 years old and can give birth."