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A two-child policy is a government-imposed limit of two children allowed per family or the payment of government subsidies only to the first two children. It is in effect in China and has previously been used in Vietnam. Although not mandated by law, in the 1970s, citizens of British Hong Kong were also highly encouraged to have two children as a limit, and it was used as part of the region's family planning strategies. == China == During the 1970s, Chinese citizens were encouraged to have only two children. The ongoing Cultural Revolution and the strain it placed on the nation were large factors. During this time, the birth rate dropped from nearly 6 children per woman to just under 3.〔(CIA World Factbook )〕 (The colloquial term "births per woman" is usually formalized as the ''Total Fertility Rate'' (TFR), a technical term in demographic analysis meaning the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates through her lifetime.) As China's youngest generation (born under the one-child policy, which first became a requirement for most couples in 1979) came of age for formation of the next generation, a single child would be left with having to provide support for his or her two parents and four grandparents. In response to this issue, by 2009 all provinces allowed couples to have two children if both parents were only children themselves. After a policy change of the Chinese government in late 2013, most Chinese provinces further relaxed the policy in 2014 by allowing families to have two children if one of the parents is an only child.〔http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-07/10/content_17706811.htm〕 Moreover, in accordance with PRC's affirmative action policies towards ethnic minorities, all non-Han ethnic groups were subjected to different rules and were usually allowed to have two children in urban areas, and three or four in rural areas. Han Chinese living in rural areas were often permitted to have two children, as exceptions existed if the first child was a daughter. Because of cases such as these, as well as urban couples who simply paid a fine (or "social maintenance fee") to have more children,〔"(New rich challenge family planning policy )." ''Xinhua''.〕 the overall fertility rate of mainland China is, in fact, closer to two children per family than to one child per family (1.8). Since 2012, Han Chinese in southern Xinjiang have been allowed to have two children. This, along with incentives and restrictions against higher Muslim Uyghur fertility, is seen as attempt to counter the threat of Uyghur separatism. On 29 October 2015, Xinhua reported the change in the existing law to a two-child policy citing a statement from the Communist Party of China.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=China to allow two children for all couples )〕 The new policy allowing Chinese couples to have two children will help address the aging issue in China, but with increasing child-rearing costs, the effect remains open to question. On 2 November, 2015 it was quoted by China's top family planning authority that the new two child policy would be implemented once it is ratified in annual session of the National People's Congress scheduled in March 2016.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=China denies immediate validity of two-child policy )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=China two-child policy not valid until March, government says )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Two-child policy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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