人口與健康閱讀材料:第二篇 Passage 2

第二篇 Passage 2

New Law Supports Family Planning

On December 29, 2001, the 25th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People’s Congress (NPC) adopted the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Population and Family Planning, which will go into effect on September 1，2002. Comprising 7 chapters and 47 articles, it is China’s first national law governing family planning affairs. While stipulating that citizens have the duty to practice family planning in accordance with the law, and both husband and wife have common responsibilities to practice family planning. The law also provides that citizens, regardless of gender, enjoy the right to have a child. According to this provision, childbearing is a matter involving both husband and wife, and neither may independently decide to give or not give birth to a child.

China began to adopt family planning throughout the country in the early 1970s. In the 1980s, family planning was designated as a basic State policy and included in the Constitution. For many years, however, the program was materialized mainly through local regulations and administrative measures, while discussions about enacting a national law in this regard accompanied the progress of the country’s family planning program.

The Law on Population and Family Planning was hard-born, as its draft had been revised more than 40 times since 1977. Debates focused on two aspects. Firstly, many thought it hard to upgrade the existing policies, regulations and administrative measures for control of rapid population growth to legal terms. At the same time, some countries’ views on China’s family planning practice posed great pressure on the Chinese Government. Secondly, due to different local conditions, differences existed in family planning policies practiced by different localities. Therefore, it was difficult to prescribe uniform legal terms.

It was at the end of last century that people realized that China’s success in population control was another great contribution to the world. In 30 years, about 300 million births were avoided, which saved society large amounts of maintenance costs and alleviated the pressure of population growth on resources and the environment.

Though remaining the most populous country in the world, China has curtailed the momentum of fast population growth. Its population reproduction has shifted from the pattern of high birth rate, low mortality rate and high growth to that of low birth rate, low mortality rate and low growth. Family planning as a basic State policy has become public awareness.

China’s family planning program has entered a new period with efforts focusing on maintaining a low birth rate and improving population quality. Under such circumstances, as one of the basic State policies of China, family planning should be guaranteed by a national law. The current population policies, which have been practiced for many years, are proved in conformity to national conditions and have achieved good results. The rich successful experiences and effective measures created by the masses and grassroots officials over the past 30 years should be affirmed in the form of national legislation.

The international community now has a better understanding of China’s practices in relation to population and family planning. China’s family planning program has also offered useful experiences for many other countries. Local legislation has accumulated valuable experiences for national legislation. Since Guangdong Province promulgated its regulations on family planning in 1980, all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in China, except Xinjiang and Tibet, have formulated local regulations on family planning. The legislative community unanimously believes that the time is ripe for enacting the Law on Population and Family Planning. This law will help maintain current family planning policies, ensure steady, sustained and sound development of population and family planning undertakings, and achieve the objective of coordinated and sustainable development of population and economy, society and natural environment.

Once the Law on Population and Family Planning goes into effect, all social upbringing charges collected will be turned over to the national treasury, out of the control of family planning departments. Collection and expenditure will be managed separately, thus eliminating any possible occurrence of malpractice and corruption in family planning departments, and guarantee the sound enforcement of relevant laws and regulations.

(Excerpts from Beijing Review March 2002)

課文詞語 Words and Expressions from the Text

ensure, stipulate, guarantee 確保

in accordance with, in terms of 根據(jù)

pose great pressure on… 給……以很大壓力

maintenance 生活費

curtail the momentum 減緩了勢頭

birth rate 出生率

mortality rate 死亡率

the masses, the grassroots 群眾，基層

in conformity to 符合

promulgate 頒布,公布

national treasury 國家財政

go into effect 開始生效，實施

malpractice 玩忽職守