Today, China has officially ended its one-child policy by signing into law a bill which will allow married couples have a second child.
The change will come into effect from 1st January after being announced by the Communist Party back in October.
However, while the new bill means couples will be able to have a second child, there will still be limits on additional births.
The policy came into effect in the 1970s, and was enforced through a system of fines and often forced and sex-selective abortions.
Initially introduced as a response to fears regarding over population, the policy has been slammed continuously over the years, In July, Liang Zhongtang, a demographer from the Shanghai Academy of Social Science, insisted that that the policy should have been abolished a long time ago.
Commenting on the law which severely limited a couple's freedom of choice, Liang continued: "The core issue is not about one child or two children. It’s about reproductive freedom. It’s about basic human rights."
While rural families were allowed to have two kids if their first born was a girl, as well as ethnic groups, the country is now suffering from an ageing population and gender imbalance, which has led to the change in law.
