CHINA TO LOOSEN ONE-CHILD POLICY, END LABOR CAMPS, REDUCE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

November 15, 2013: China will ease its family planning policies and abolish a controversial labor camp system, according to a key document issued after a ruling Communist Party meeting, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Couples will be allowed to have two children if one of the parents is an only child, as part of an adjustment of the birth policy to promote "long-term balanced development of the population in China", it said.
Previously, a couple could only generally have a second child if both parents were only children.
The reform package will also see China abolish the labor camp system, which it calls re-education through labor, and reduce the number of crimes subject to the death penalty "step by step", Xinhua added. (Source: Reuters, 15/11/2013)