inese government took into consideration the needs of the social and economic development of the state and its longrange interests, as well as the actual conditions of different regions, ethnic groups and social strata, the people's wishes and attitudes, to combine state guidance with voluntary participation by the masses.
The combination of state guidance with voluntary participation is an important principle China has always followed since the implementation of the family planning policy, and is the fundamental guarantee of success for the family planning programme as well. The main manifestations of state guidance include: The central and local governments, in accordance with the national conditions and people's will, and through legislative procedures, have formulated the policies, laws and regulations concerning the control of population growth, the improvement of the life quality of population and the optimization of the population structure; worked out the macro population development plan, and integrated it in the overall plan for national economic and social development; placed population control and family planning in the government's major agenda, organized and coordinated all relevant departments and mass organizations to draw up and implement the programmes on population and family planning, and provided necessary funds and conditions to guarantee the needs of both causes; and, through extensive and in-depth publicity and education all over the country, provided guidance and services to all couples and individuals in terms of reproductive health care, contraception and birth control, healthy child birth and rearing to help them in proper arrangement of family planning.
Voluntary participation is mainly manifested in the fact that, under the guidance of the state's relevant policies and legislation, the right of all couples and individuals to carry out family planning is protected and respected. While exercising their right of child bearing, couples and individuals must take into account their responsibilities and duties to the state and community, and the health and happiness of the family and all its members. On the basis of effective information, advice and services and in accordance with the age, health, work and family economic conditions, couples and individuals can arrange for pregnancy and child bearing in a responsible and planned way, and select proper contraceptive methods so as to have healthy children and happy, progressive families.
A family planning policy that conforms to the state's actual conditions and embodies classified guidance is an important component part of exercising state guidance. The main contents of the current family planning policy in China are: Advocating delayed marriage and delayed child bearing, fewer and healthier births; and advocating one child for one couple. Some rural couples with actual difficulties are allowed to give birth to a second child a few years after the birth of the first child. The national minorities are also required to practise family planning, and concrete demands and approaches to the policy are decided by each autonomous region or the province in which the national minorities live. There are practical differences in the family planning policy between urban and rural areas, and between the Han and the ethnic minorities, i.e., the policy for rural areas is more flexible than for urban areas; for national minorities more flexible than for the Han people. Each province (autonomous region or municipality) will formulate the corresponding policy and regulations in accordance with the state's policy and the actual local conditions and form its local legislation through legal procedures.
One child for one couple is a necessary choice made under China's special historical conditions to alleviate the grim population situation. One child for one couple does not mean to "have one child" under all circumstances, but rather, while encouraging couples to have only one child, to plan arrangements for couples who have real difficulties and need to have a second chi