Due to the massive imbalance in their demographics, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party announced the decision to relax the one-child policy. Under the new policy, families could have two children if one parent, rather than both parents, was an only child.

Apart from the violence endured by many Chinese women who were caught pregnant on further children and forcibly aborted, analysts say that the policy will have many devastating consequences on China and its ambitions as a world economic leader

Photo shows a still from ITV’s On Assignment of Yang Zhenling was forced to abort her baby at nine months