China Will Now Let Parents Have Two Children, Ending Their Controversial 'One-Child' Policy

China is calling time on their controversial one-child policy, which restricted couples from having more than, you guessed it, a single child.

According to ABC News, the announcement was made at the end of a key party meeting of the Communist leadership in Beijing, during which the nation’s next five years were plotted out.

(To help convey China's 13th 'Five-Year Plan', state-run news agency Xinhua produced this mind-bending propaganda video, complete with the catchiest song about economic reform you'll ever hear.)

Anyway... the one-child policy was introduced in the late 1970s and officially kicked off in 1980, with authorities claiming the restriction on childbirth would help China's economic boom.

Though China can now boast the world’s second largest economy, it has come at a cost, given their ageing population and shrinking workforce.

It is hoped that ending the one-child policy will reverse that trend, though some critics believe it’s too little, too late. For instance, there is a massive rift between the number of males and females in the nation, skewing heavily towards males, due to a preference for boys in rural areas. (A national commission strictly enforced the one-child policy with fines and forced abortions.)

China began making strides towards this most recent decision in 2013, when the restrictions were loosened, allowing certain couples two children.

Amnesty International has released a statement suggesting the move is still not progressive enough.

“Couples that have two children could still be subjected to coercive and intrusive forms of contraception, and even forced abortions – which amount to torture,” said William Nee, China Researcher at Amnesty International.

“The state has no business regulating how many children people have. If China is serious about respecting human rights, the government should immediately end such invasive and punitive controls over people’s decisions to plan families and have children.”