As most of the early single-child parents enter retirement, incentives for one-child parents have been implemented across the country for these special family groups. This is not only a livelihood project related to the well-being of the majority of one-child parents, but also demonstrates the deep concern and care of party committees and governments at all levels for one-child families, so it has also attracted widespread attention from the whole society.
The single-child parents in the mainland are mainly concentrated in the three generations from the 50s to the 70s. Although there are many one-child parents among the post-80s, given that they are still eligible to have a second child, the post-50s and post-60s generations are most affected by the policy. Many of them have entered or are about to retire, and this incentive policy is undoubtedly the best recognition of their past choices and efforts.
In the one-child incentive policy in various localities, there is such a paragraph: During the period when the state advocates that a couple have only one child, parents who voluntarily have only one child for life, who have not violated the family planning policy, and who have applied for the honor certificate of the parents of the only child, will enjoy the relevant rewards. This seemingly prosaic text actually contains the profound connotation of the family planning policy period.
Referring to the period when the state encouraged a couple to have only one child, we cannot but mention the basic national policy of family planning. It is not only enshrined in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, but also a testimony to the country's development and social progress in different periods. In that special historical period, having only one child in life became the core requirement of the family planning policy. From the call of the state to have only one child in the 80s to the revision of the Population and Family Planning Law of the People's Republic of China at the end of 2015, these years have witnessed the choice and dedication of hundreds of millions of families.
According to the Population and Family Planning Law, which was amended at the end of 2015, since January 2016, the state has been encouraging couples to have two children; And starting in 2021, a couple is encouraged to have three children. This means that the mainland's one-child policy came to an end on December 31, 2015, and the two-child policy was replaced.
According to the provisions of the Population and Family Planning Law, families with only one child born before December 31, 2015, as long as they promise to have only one child in their lifetime, can apply for the honor certificate of parents of one child and enjoy relevant incentive policies. However, for children born after January 1, 2016, due to the policy to encourage the birth of a second child, even if the family only intends to have one child, it will no longer apply for the honor certificate of the parents of the only child, and will not be able to enjoy the corresponding incentive policies.
At the heart of the one-child policy is the family's voluntary commitment to have only one child for life. Such commitments are not rhetorical words, but need to be put into action. For example, some families may choose to undergo sterilization, and women may choose to have a contraceptive device as a sign of strong support for the policy. At that time, whether or not these surgeries were performed even became an important indicator of whether a family was truly practicing the one-child policy.
In the process of applying for a one-child certificate or a one-child parent honor certificate, the first and key condition is that the family planning policy must be strictly followed to ensure that the birth behavior is legal and compliant. The legitimacy of this is not only reflected in the control of the number of children, but also in the fact that every aspect of the reproductive behavior must meet the legal requirements.
Legal husband and wife giving birth and holding complete documents are the prerequisites for applying for a one-child certificate. These documents, like a pass on the road to childbirth, are indispensable. A marriage certificate, which symbolizes the legal conclusion of marriage; The sterilization certificate is the norm and constraint on fertility behavior under the family planning policy; The family planning permit is an important document to ensure that the birth behavior is officially recognized. In addition, in some regions, a birth certificate has become an essential piece of proof.
However, even if only one child is born, if there is any violation of laws and regulations in the childbearing behavior, it is still impossible to obtain the recognition of the only child certificate. Children born out of wedlock, even if they meet the requirements of an only child, are still considered to be in violation of the family planning policy because they are not born within a legal marriage. Similarly, if you do not reach the legal age of marriage at the time of marriage and childbirth, it is also a violation of family planning and you cannot enjoy the treatment of the one-child certificate.
Even if you have already obtained a marriage certificate and are of legal age for marriage at the time of childbirth, if you do not apply for a birth permit during childbirth, it will still be considered a violation of the family planning policy. As an important document under the family planning policy, the existence of the birth permit is directly related to the handling of the one-child certificate. For families who are unable to provide or reapply for a birth permit, the local family planning department will not apply for an one-child certificate.
The one-child certificate or the honor certificate of the parents of the only child is not only a necessary certificate for receiving the health care allowance of the only child and enjoying the one-time reward or additional pension at retirement, but also the official recognition of the family's family planning behavior. However, the threshold for applying for a certificate of honor for parents of a single child is relatively high, requiring families to strictly follow the family planning policy and hold complete documents such as marriage certificates, birth permits and surgical certificates.
Therefore, it is not difficult for us to find that not all single-child families can successfully apply for the one-child parent honor certificate. Families who are unable to apply for the family planning policy due to lack of necessary documents, although the number of children meets the one-child requirement, is considered to be in violation of the family planning policy at the policy level. These regulations may seem too draconian today, but they were real realities in the social context of the time.
To sum up, in this sense, the only child does not only refer to the number of children in the family, but also to the legitimacy and standardization of reproductive behavior. Only those families who truly follow the family planning policy and hold complete documents can be recognized as one-child families and enjoy the corresponding incentives and support policies.