Shanghai Eases One-Child Rule

Authorities in Shanghai will allow divorced couples who remarry to have a second child, easing China's controversial one-child per couple rule.

The city is acting under a policy that lets local governments decide how to apply the one-child rule. Divorce rates in Shanghai have escalated in recent years.

In general, divorced Chinese who remarry are allowed to have a second child only if their new spouse is childless. Since the 1970s, the government has enforced the one-child policy to slow the growth of China's population of 1.3 billion people.