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BEIJING - China's top family planning official has warned that the country, home to 1.3 billion, could face a population rebound as the newly rich pay to have more children.
Zhang Weiqing, director of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, said the wealthy were showing disdain for the one-child policy by paying to have as many children as they wanted.
Those who have babies in violation of the restrictions are punished with heavy fines.
"The number of rich people and celebrities having more than one child is on a rapid increase, and nearly 10 per cent of them even have three," a commission report said.
Zhang said that rural residents were still marrying below the legal marriageable ages of 22 for men and 20 for women, contributing to more births.
- REUTERS
