Press Briefing On Shandong Province’s Population and Family Planning

[10:15:02, September 29, 2009] Shandong on Internet: the press briefing is chaired by Mr. Li Jianjun, director of the International Communication Office of Shandong Provincial Party Committee and of the Information Office of Shandong Provincial People’s Government.

[10:32:45, September 29, 2009] Li Jianjun: Today, we hold a provincial government press briefing and have invited Mr. Yang Xinsheng, deputy director of the Provincial Population and Family Planning Commission, to give a briefing on our province’s population and family planning.

[10:33:35, September 29, 2009] Li Jianjun: Next, we will have Mr. Yang Xinsheng give a briefing on our province’s population and family planning.

[10:34:12, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: Good morning, media friends. Next, I will give a briefing on the matters concerned.

[10:35:14, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: 1. Our province’s development of population and family planning. Since the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, our province’s population and family planning has mainly experienced two major periods and four developing stages.

[10:35:22, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: The first period was before the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee, when family planning was put forward and carried out as a task. And this period can be roughly divided into two developing stages. The first was the stage of publicity and advocacy of family planning from the 1950s to the 1960s.

[10:37:35, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: The second was the starting stage of fully carrying out family planning in the 1970s.

[10:37:59, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: The second period was after the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee. After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee, our Party restored the ideological line of seeking truth from facts. Under the background of reform, opening-up, and modernization, family planning was put forward as a basic national policy and was pursued in the country in an all-around way. This period also contained two stages.

[10:40:03, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: The first was the stage when undue population growth was brought under control and a low birth rate was achieved, and the second was the stage when low birth was stabilized and the population problem was dealt with in an overall manner.

[10:41:28, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: In the new century, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council successively made two decisions about strengthening population and family planning work in 2000 and 2006, which set forth new tasks and new requirements for making a good job of population and family planning in the new period. The departments at all levels in our province have conscientiously implemented the spirit of the decisions, and have made constant new achievements in the work of population and family planning.

[10:42:07, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: 2. Our province’s great achievements in population and family planning since the foundation of the People’s Republic of China. First, the trend of undue population growth has been effectively controlled. Second, population reproduction type has been fundamentally changed. During the 60 years, population reproduction type has experienced two historic changes, that is, change from low birth rate, high mortality rate and low growth to high birth rate, low mortality rate and high growth, and then to low birth rate, low mortality rate and low growth. Third, population quality has been continuously enhanced. Fourth, people’s view about marriage and children bearing has greatly changed.

[10:45:11, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: 3.The contributions of effective population control to economic and social development

[10:45:46, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: A. Contributions to economic development. Data from Population Research Institute of the Provincial Academy of Social Sciences show that over 1/5of the whole province’s GDP is attributed to population control.

[10:48:05, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: B. Contributions to the improvement of people’s living standard. Over 46% of the increase of our province’s per capita consumption level is attributed to population control.

[10:49:36, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: C. Contributions to social causes. First, the control of the undue population growth has produced not only great economic benefits but also great social benefits.

[10:50:31, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: Second, the level of per capita medical and health resources has been increased and the condition of medical and health resources available to the whole province’s population has been effectively improved. In 2007, there were 3,278 hospitals, 337,000 doctors in Shandong Province, with one hospital for 28,600 people and one doctor for 278. If the population had not been controlled, the number would have risen up to 46,900 and 456 respectively.

[10:50:53, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: Third, the level of per capita communications resources has been raised. In 2007, our province’s total highway length was 208,000 kilometers, a per capita average of 0.0023 kilometer. If 50 million more people had been were added, the per capita average would have been only 0.0015 kilometers.

[10:51:02, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: Fourth, the employment pressure has been reduced and the social security level has been lifted.

[10:54:00, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: 4. The current situation of population and family planning. In spite of the achievements, we should clearly realize that our province’s basic condition and the major problems of population and family planning have not yet changed fundamentally, and population and family planning work is confronted with many new affairs and new problems, which we must attach great importance to and conscientiously solve.

[10:54:24, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: First, the low birth rate is faced with severe challenges. Second, the problem of dealing with population in an overall manner is still serious. Third, the population and family planning work is faced with a very complicated situation. Fourth, it is a very arduous task to achieve the objectives of population and family planning work.

[11:03:32, September 29, 2009] Yang Xinsheng: We sincerely hope that media friends will pay attention to and publicize family planning, and create a denser atmosphere of public opinion, so as to further enhance the whole society’s consciousness of national policy and grave concern for population, unify the activities of all departments at all levels around the arrangements and requirements of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, and create a better population environment for the early realization of a new leap to enrich the people and strengthen our province. Thank you!

[11:04:04, September 29, 2009] Li Jianjun: Today`s press briefing is over. Thank you.