A couple fined 320,000 yuan for having an extra child—dare you have a third?
Compiled from: Tencent News, China.com.cn
Recently, a couple in Panyu District, Guangzhou, who already had two children, were ordered to pay a total of nearly 320,000 yuan in social抚养费 after having a third child. The court has initiated enforcement, and the couple's bank accounts have been frozen.
[4] Event Review
The involved party, Wang Fang (a pseudonym), said she became unexpectedly pregnant in April 2017. During her pregnancy and after giving birth, local family planning authorities never contacted her or her husband. Once, she heard that a decision notice for social抚养费 collection had been posted at the neighborhood committee's entrance, but she did not take it seriously.
In January 2019, according to the "Decision on Social抚养费 Collection" issued by the Guangzhou Panyu District Health and Family Planning Bureau (now the Panyu District Health Bureau), Wang Fang and her husband violated family planning policies on January 23, 2018, by having an extra child as urban residents. Under the "Guangdong Province Population and Family Planning Regulations," each was required to pay 158,799 yuan in social抚养费, totaling nearly 320,000 yuan for the couple. An administrative ruling from the Guangzhou Railway Transport Court stated that on September 9, 2019, the court approved the enforcement of the collection decision.
A month ago, when Wang Fang tried to transfer money to a friend via WeChat, she found her account frozen. The notification read: "In accordance with legal regulations and judicial documents, our company has assisted the judicial authorities in freezing the corresponding funds in your balance account." The freeze was effective from May 7, 2020.
Initially confused, Wang Fang later recalled the social抚养费 collection notice posted by the neighborhood committee and realized her account had been "enforced" due to non-payment of the fee.
Wang Fang said that her first child is now in elementary school, with monthly expenses of over 2,000 yuan, the second child is in kindergarten, costing over 10,000 yuan per semester, and the third child is still on formula milk. Not only that, but they also have to pay over 6,000 yuan in mortgage each month, plunging the family into financial hardship.
What is a social maintenance fee?
A social maintenance fee refers to a fee levied on citizens who give birth to children not meeting legal conditions, aimed at regulating the use of natural resources and protecting the environment, as well as appropriately compensating the government'sinvestment in public social undertakings. The social maintenance fee is anadministrative charge, characterized by its compensatory and mandatory nature.
On August 2, 2002, the State Council promulgated the "Measures for the Administration of Social Maintenance Fee Collection" through State Council Order No. 357.It stipulated provisions on the collection of social maintenance fees.
In 2016, the state made significant strategic adjustments to the basic national policy of family planning. Although the country has now fully liberalized the two-child policy, the number of births nationwide has been declining for several consecutive years, and the demographic dividend is gradually disappearing. Therefore, further adjusting the birth policy and abolishing social maintenance fees has become an inevitable trend.
Moreover, imposing high social maintenance fees may put some financially struggling families in a difficult position, potentially requiring government relief in the end. Not collecting or reducing social maintenance fees would leave more funds with families, preventing them and their children from falling into survival and development difficulties, and enabling families to better afford raising and educating their children to grow into capable adults.
[1] The author's perspective
In this incident, the relevant local authorities in Panyu District have taken into account the actual financial difficulties of the family involved. According to the "Measures for the Administration of Social Maintenance Fee Collection in Guangdong Province," the fee can be paid in installments, with the "down payment" being no less than 30% of the total amount, and the installment period not exceeding three years.
The author believes that even though the relevant authorities have made a humane decision regarding the payment method of social maintenance fees for this family based on the actual situation, a "down payment" of 30% of the total amount is still a huge sum for this family. Even if the collection of social maintenance fees is unavoidable, could the collected fees be returned in an appropriate manner to families that are genuinely in need?
Although many regions still collect social maintenance fees and the family planning policy remains in place, these fees are neither reasonable nor justified. It has been four years since the full implementation of the two-child policy in 2016, and China's birth population has declined for three consecutive years. If strict population control measures are still enforced at this point, they clearly no longer align with or conform to the national spirit and methods of reforming and improving family planning service management. Our attitude toward "unplanned births" should be coordinated with the current population development trends and the policy direction encouraging childbirth.
In society, there is a strong call to abolish social maintenance fees, and people's congress representatives have also proposed this. We cannot let this become a cliché topic. If it cannot be abolished for the time being, the government should at least respond to society by adjusting the outdated collection scheme for social maintenance fees, reducing them as much as possible or exempting them under special circumstances. Shifting the work approach to create a favorable environment and conditions for childbirth and systematically addressing people's "concerns about having children" is the true essence of building a birth-friendly society.
