Real Change In China?

In an interesting move China today has announced it will take another step in reducing its one child policy, saying families can have two children if one of them is an only child. This replaces a rule that limited two child families two those where both parents were only children.

Like Europe, China is discovering that a low birth rate leads to a rapidly aging population and a fall of the population in general. Unlike Europe it has decided not to take the suicidal step of unlimited immigration.
The policy has also led to millions of female babies being aborted so the one child families could have a
boy. This has led to the social crisis of millions more men that women.

In the past, this policy has led to forced abortions and oppression. It is clearly unpopular and one can hope that its change indicates a weakening of power in the Chines oligarchy. It also shows the incredible foolishness of trying to run a society with centralized state planning.

China has also announced it will abolish it's slave labor camp which allows "criminals", (read dissidents), to be imprisoned at forced labor. In a move that will now doubt send shock-waves of horror through the hearts of American retailers, the Chinese parliament, a figurehead for the party elite, has ruled the system illegal

This is a hopeful sign, especially for Christians as the system is used to persecute house churches, but is it for real? Does it mark real change for the Chinese system or is it only window dressing? Only time will tell.