英语新闻｜鼓励生育需要平衡政策

Restricting eligibility for those entitled to fertility incentives — such as cash subsidies and housing coupons — to families planning to have a second or third child while disregarding the needs of couples considering their first child is not conducive to achieving "an appropriate fertility level", a senior population expert said recently.

资深人口专家日前表示，将有权享受生育激励措施（例如现金补贴和住房优惠）的资格限制在计划生育二孩或三孩的家庭，而无视准备生一孩的家庭的需求，并不利于实现“适度生育水平”。

He Dan, director of the China Population and Development Research Center, suggested that authorities remove conditions associated with the number of babies in a family or household registration place, and dedicate more effort to improving the experience of those wanting a child.

中国人口与发展研究中心主任贺丹建议，取消孩次差异和户籍限制，着重改善想要孩子的家庭的体验。

In a signed article released recently, He said that the shrinking number of people having their first child and the delay in having children are the primary reasons for the country's low fertility level.

在最近发表的文章中，贺丹表示，生育率下降和生育推迟是造成中国低生育水平的主要原因。

The average fertility rate in China, meaning the number of children born to a woman over a lifetime, dropped from 1.52 in 2019 to 1.07 last year, and the first-child fertility rate fell from 0.7 to 0.5 during the same period.

中国的平均生育率，即一名妇女一生生育的孩子数量，从2019年的1.52下降到2022年的1.07，同期一孩生育率从0.7下降到0.5。

"The average age of women at the birth of their first child rose from 26.4 to 27.4," she said. "The number of families who are able and willing to have their first baby has significantly decreased, which has further dragged down overall fertility levels."

她说：“一孩平均生育年龄从26.4岁升高至27.4岁，能够并且愿意生第一个孩子的家庭数量明显减少，这进一步拖累了整体生育水平。”

She said a survey shows that the majority of first-time mothers express anxiety about pregnancy and parenthood and complain about the high pressure of raising and educating children, which results in a reduced willingness to have more babies.

她说，调查显示，多数一孩母亲反映对怀孕和生育的过程感到不安，孩子出生后抚养和教育孩子压力大，导致多生孩子的意愿降低。

"Since 2019, the second-child fertility rate has decreased from 0.7 to 0.39 and the proportion of second babies among the total number of newborns fell from 46.4 to 38.6 percent," He said. "The drop is associated with lack of capacity to handle the burdens of child rearing, as well as poor experiences with having the first child."

贺丹说：“2019年以来，二孩生育率从0.7下降到0.39，二孩占新生儿总数的比例从46.4%下降到38.6%。这种下降与对养育孩子成本的承受能力不足有关，也也和家庭对初育过程的主观体验较差有关。”

In July 2021, the central leadership released a landmark decision on optimizing fertility policies to promote long-term, balanced population development, which includes a policy allowing all couples to have up to three children.

2021年7月，中央发布了一项具有重大意义的决定，即关于优化生育政策促进人口长期均衡发展的决定，其中包括一对夫妻可以生育三个孩子的政策。

"Some local governments have oversimplified the decision to a 'three-child policy' and are focusing on giving incentives to families intending to have two or three children and restricting the access of migrant families to benefits," she said.

她说：“一些地方政府过于简化‘三孩政策’的决定，以二孩和三孩奖励为重点，并限制新市民家庭获得福利。”

For instance, He said a city may announce its intention to issue a onetime subsidy of 5,000 yuan ($700) to families with two children and 20,000 yuan to families with three children, while excluding one-child families and those who have just moved to the city from elsewhere.

贺丹说，例如，某市向有本市户口的二孩和三孩家庭分别发放一次性补助5000元（约合700美元）、20000元（约合2800美元），而新市民，一孩家庭不享受该项政策。

"Such fragmented and uneven policy will hardly raise the willingness to give birth," she said.

她说：“这种碎片化且不公平的政策很难提高生育意愿，”

He said that it is important to ensure that policy incentives are fair, inclusive and fertility-friendly.

贺丹说，重要的是要确保政策激励措施公平、包容和有利于生育。

"Discrepancies in the amount of incentives offered should be removed and more effort is needed to increase the sense of achievement of families with one child, and their willingness to have more babies," she said.

她说：“应该消除奖励金额的差异，需要做出更多努力来提高一孩家庭生育的获得感和再生育意愿。”

She also suggested creating favorable conditions for young individuals to transition from college education to starting families, finding employment and improving marriage and fertility services for college students, such as giving medical insurance and subsidies to those who plan to have babies while at school.

她还建议为年轻人从大学教育过渡到成家立业创造条件，改善大学生就业和婚育服务，如为准备生育的在校生提供医疗保险和补贴等。

She also suggested including nursery care services and preschool education in basic public services and offering a wide range of benefits, such as tax cuts and discounts on buying homes and cars to relieve the financial burden of raising children.

她还建议将托育服务和学前教育纳入基本公共服务，并提供广泛的福利，例如减税和购房、购车优惠，以减轻抚养孩子的经济负担。

Childbirth

英/ˈtʃaɪldbɜːθ/ 美/ˈtʃaɪldbɜːrθ/

n.分娩

Fertility

英/fəˈtɪləti/ 美/fərˈtɪləti/

n.生育