It's been about 35 years since China implemented its one child policy. While there were a few exceptions, couples in urban areas who are both only children are allowed a second child and rural couples may have a second child if their first was a girl, for the majority of couples in China it was a one and done policy.
Now China, while not out right changing the rule, is set to relax it.
At the time the rule was put into place over population fears were a concern. Now there is worry that with an aging work force there will be a shortage in the labor pool and caring for the elderly will become more difficult. According to a BBC article (linked above) by 2050 a quarter of China's population will be over the age of 65.
Another problem that has arisen from this strict policy is the extreme difference in number between the male and female population. The same BBC article mentioned above puts the number of men unable to find a wife will reach over 20 million by the end of the decade.
President Xi Jinping has been trying to deal with corruption in the Chinese government. The officials who oversee the family planning policy is an area allegedly ripe with corruption. Enforces collect over a billion dollars in fines a year. There have long been reports of forced abortions. A story went viral last year that included photos of a woman from Shaanxi Provence lying next to the fetus she was forced to abort in her seventh month of pregnancy sparking discussion on the policy to begin.
Included with the relaxation of the one child policy were promises of more property rights for farmers, a bigger free market role and doing away with "reeducation through labour".
This sounds like a step in the right direction towards the improvement of human rights in China.
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