The Chinese government spent 1.23 billion yuan (about US$184 million) in subsidizing 413,000 rural families who had fewer children than they were allowed over the past five years in a bid to encourage birth control.

The figure was revealed Tuesday by the National Population and Family Planning Commission at a meeting on the family planning policies.

In northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, which started to implement such a compensation policy in 2000, parents who were allowed to bear three children but actually give birth to only two get a one-off payment of 3,000 yuan.

While rural families who have only one child usually get higher payments, the compensation standards in most regions are different.

"All birth control families have made great contributions to our country's social and economic development, and they should be given priority in enjoying the benefits of development," Li Bin, chief of the commission said at the meeting.

In the past five years, rural people aged 60 or over with no siblings and rural parents who have two girls received a total of 9.17 billion yuan.

In China's rural areas, many people particularly wish to have male offspring who can shoulder physically demanding farming work, and the elderly, unlike their urban counterparts, have no retirement pensions.

In the last five years, the government also provided 1.64 billion yuan to families whose only child was injured or killed.

The government would improve family planning support policies by raising compensation standards and shortening compensation procedures from 2011 to 2015, Li said.

Last month, Li said that keeping the birth rate low was still the priority given the country's large population base and relatively scarce natural resources.

(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2011)