More measures should be adopted in addition to monetary penalties to prevent China's wealthy people from having more children, which runs counter to the nation's one-child policy, a population expert said yesterday.
Business tycoons and show business celebrities are joining rural people to challenge China's family planning policy by paying the punitive "social maintenance fee" to have two or more offspring.
"Simply imposing fines or administrative punishments would not produce an ideal result," said Yang Kuifu, vice chairman of the Committee of Population, Resources and Environment under the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which is holding a 10-day session.
Yang said he has presented a proposal to the annual session of the CPPCC National Committee, to invite reasonable and effective ideas to tackle the problem.
At least 84 affluent Shanghai citizens registered to have a second child between 2002 and 2005. In Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning Province, 76 wealthy people were punished for having extra babies in 2000.
Most people working in government departments or for state-run institutions are afraid of losing their jobs for having more than one child. However, prohibitive measures are not effective enough for private business people or celebrities.
(Xinhua)