Population rebound possible as rich ignore rules

Family planning officials say China faces a "population rebound" if the newly rich ignore population control laws and early marriages in rural areas become endemic. State media said rising incomes have allowed urban families to break population control rules and pay fines to have more children. Zhang Weiqing, director of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, said the current low birth rate was likely unsustainable and the risk of a population rebound is very real. "Early marriages are still prevalent in some parts of the country… which goes against the family planning policy," Zhang said. According to the law, men can marry at age 22 and women at age 20 but the policy officially encourages late marriages. At the same time, the number of rich people and celebrities with more than one child is on the rise. Some 10% of people in this group already have three, according to a recent survey.