From Chinese Press

Second child deserves hukou

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-24 07:39

The second child of a family, born in violation of the country's one-child family planning policy, should be granted household registration. Their legal status should not be made a measure of expediency in the sixth national census, says an article in Democracy and Law Times. Excerpts:

The government has started the sixth census and indicated that second children of parents, born in violation of the one-child policy, can apply for household registration (hukou) without having to pay any fine.

In order to implement the strict family planning policy and check a population boom, some local public security authorities usually refuse to grant hukou to the second child of a family. But this penalty has no legal basis because not they, but their parents violated the family planning law. Refusing their application for hukou runs counter to the Constitution and deprives them of their citizenship and right of equality.

Legally speaking, any citizen of the People's Republic of China should have a hukou, enjoy the rights and undertake his legal responsibilities. It's good that the authorities are trying to implement the family planning policy strictly. But they should also take concrete measures to guarantee people their basic rights.

(China Daily 06/24/2010 page9)