On a recent trip to Beijing, we spent time with good friends who gave us an update on preparations for their second child. In a country with a one-child policy, these preparations began before their first child was born. In fact, they began before their first child was even conceived. After all, having one child – or in their case a first child – is relatively straightforward in China. The couple filed paperwork stating that they did not have any previous children, became pregnant, and gave birth to their beautiful baby, now 8 months old.
Preparing for the second child was much trickier and included familiarizing themselves with residency laws for Hong Kong and Macau. A loophole to China’s one-child policy is that if a woman gives birth to a second child outside of China, she can bring the baby back into the country legally. Hong Kong and Macau, for the sake of the one-child policy, do not qualify as “China” so many people choose to give birth to second or third children in these special administrative regions. And let’s face it, Hong Kong is closer than Canada, another popular destination for giving birth to a second child. Nevertheless, there are still challenges. In order to gain the right to give birth in Hong Kong or Macau and return to China legally, one must become a resident.
“How easy is it to become a resident of Hong Kong or Macau?” I asked. My friend replied this way, “Well, it is not difficult exactly. But, it does require some paperwork and fees. Oh yes, and one must buy an apartment or house there too.” For this reason, they chose Macau rather than Hong Kong, which is notorious for outrageously expensive housing. Once the paperwork was filed, home purchased, and fees paid, my friends had to wait. “Do both of you have to be residents? I asked. “No, no, just the woman,” they replied.
All of this took place eighteen months ago. In the meantime, my friends became pregnant and gave birth to their first child, a son. They anticipate another two months before the wife’s residency will be approved, and they will be able to begin trying to conceive their second child.
The husband shared that while they could choose to have the second baby illegally and pay a fine, they really want everything to be above board. Fines for multiple births vary from city to city and province to province. In Beijing, it can be in the neighborhood of US$30,000. It seems like a lot until you think about how much these families must pay to give birth in Hong Kong or Macau – not to mention buy an additional property!
This couple’s long, thoughtful, and expensive journey to their yet unrealized second pregnancy is difficult to fathom. It is also not an avenue available to the masses; in fact, having a baby overseas to avoid the one-child policy is often attacked in the Chinese press as a privilege of affluence that must be stopped. Nevertheless, the law, often ignored in the countryside and circumvented by money in the cities, remains firmly in place as it soon enters its fourth decade.