[Sichuan People's Government stresses planned parenthood]

A recent provincial conference on planned parenthood work convened by the Sichuan Provincial People's Government proposed: It is necessary to further strengthen party committee leadership, persistently grasp together the 2 kinds of production, and, while carrying out propaganda and education with great fanfare, adopt legal, administrative, and economic measures to fulfill this year's population plan and unswervingly do a good job of insuring that each couple has only 1 child. A new situation has appeared in the province's planned parenthood work since last year. Some 1,466,000 couples have insured that they will only have 1 child, accounting for 78.8% of the couples of childbearing age who presently have only 1 child. Although the province was facing a peak birth last year, the natural population growth rate actually fell to 6.7/1000. The population growth rate in Mianyang Prefecture has greatly decreased. The population growth rate has now fallen below 5/1000 in 62 counties, municipalities and districts. Mianyang is the largest prefecture in Sichuan. Last year its natural population growth rate fell to 3.5%. Its primary experience is that the leading cadres at all levels must personally and repeatedly grasp the work and grasp together the 2 kinds of production. It is worth noting that, to control the population, it is necessary to strengthen leadership over large and backward counties. If the population growth declines in these counties, it can also decline very fast in a whole prefecture and in the whole province. The conference demanded that the province step up propaganda work and patiently and meticulously carry out persuasive education. The emphasis should be on commendation and reward. It is necessary to take legal, administrative and economic measures against those who refuse to practice planned parenthood despite education and persuasion, in order to stimulate them to mend their ways. After discussion, the meeting put forward a number of views on amending the trial regulations on a number of issues in Sichuan's planned parenthood work. At its conclusion, the conference commended Mianyang, Wenjiang, Chongqing, and Jiangjin prefectures and municipalities and 81 other counties, municipalities, and districts including Shifang, Jiangjin and Guangyuan, and presented awards to them.