U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), will hold a hearing Thursday, Dec. 3 to examine much-reported changes to the brutally enforced one-child policy recently announced by the Chinese Communist Party.

The announcement that a universal two-child policy will be adopted, allowing all married Chinese couples to have two children, will be reviewed. The policy change was driven by serious demographic challenges currently facing China—a rapidly aging population, a shrinking labor force, and a dramatic gender imbalance that drives regional human trafficking problems and potentially higher levels of crime and societal instability. Central authorities still insist that family planning will continue to be a “fundamental national policy” and many unanswered questions remain about implementation of the policy. Why did China not completely abolish birth restrictions? Will coercive implementation continue? What will happen to China’s massive bureaucracy of family planning officials? Will the two-child policy counter China’s massive demographic problems?

The hearing will examine the potential demographic, economic, and social implications associated with China’s new “Two-Child Policy” and seek recommendations on how the international community can assist China to address them.

Who: Rep. Chris Smith, CECC chairman and longtime advocate of human rights in China, other invited members of Congress, and witnesses:

• Nicholas Eberstadt, Ph.D., Henry Wendt Scholar in Political Economy, American Enterprise Institute
• Reggie Littlejohn, Founder and President, Women’s Rights Without Frontiers 
• Jennifer Li, Co-Founder, China Life Alliance

When: Thursday, Dec. 3 @ 10 a.m. -12 noon

What: Hearing entitled “China’s New ‘Two-Child Policy’ & the Continuation of Massive Crimes Against Women and Children”

Where: Room 210 of the Capitol Visitor’s Center