A father tutors his daughter while his wife comforts their younger son. Photo: IC

North China's Tianjin has launched revision work on family planning regulation to extend paternity leave to encourage childbirth in response to the nation's new three-child policy while other areas are offering allowances for having newborn babies. 

A netizen complained online that while the average paternity leave for men across the nation ranges from 15 to 30 days, men in Tianjin have only seven days at present. The netizen suggested to prolong men's paternity leave now that China is encouraging couples to have three children. 

Tianjin Municipal Health Commission replied last Thursday that the authority has launched revision on the local regulations of population and family planning and plans to extend paternity leave for men. The revision work is progressing according to the legislative procedures at present. 

The major policy shift on family planning has continued to draw attention from the public since China announced on May 31 to further lift its family planning policy to allow each couple to have up to three children. 

In China, paternity leave is stipulated by provincial family planning regulations, and is not available in every region and varies greatly in length.

According to the Workers' Daily, Henan, Gansu and Yunnan provinces have the longest paternity leaves across the nation with 30 days while Tianjin and Shandong Province have the shortest, with only seven days. 

Previously, Zhang Bingzi, a researcher from the Research Department of Social Development of the Development Research Center of the State Council pointed out in an article published in the People's Daily in June that paternity leave in many regions is only seven days, which tends to not encourage fathers to participate in child-rearing. 

Zhang suggested to extend the paternity leave to at least one month and the birth allowance during paternity leave should also be covered by maternity insurance. 

Many areas across the nation have made proactive responses to the nation's new policy with issuing financial allowances to encourage childbirth. 

A village in Lianjiang city in South China's Guangdong Province announced to subsidize newborn babies starting September 1 with each newborn baby obtaining at least 90,000 yuan ($13,920). 

Each infant born in the Huangzhugen village can obtain 3,000 yuan to 3,300 yuan per month until they reach 2.5 years, which comes to a total of 90,000 to 99,000 yuan for each infant. 

Other areas including Linze county in Northwest China's Gansu Province and Panzhihua city in Southwest China's Sichuan Province have announced allowances for second and third children ranging from 5,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan per child per year until they reach 3 years old. 

Global Times