| Abstract: | The 2nd Chinese Scientific Symposium on Theories of Population was held in Chengdu, Sichuan, on December 7-13, 1979. The symposium was jointly sponsored by the Department of Family Planning of the Chinese Central Government, Chinese Academy of Sociology, Sichuan Provincial Revolutionary Committee (SPRC), and the Institute of Population Theories of the Chinese People's University (IPT). There were 255 attendants, representing 60 academic institutions, 14 scientific research organizations and 31 provincial, municipal, and autonomous regional departments of family planning. The main theme of the meeting was "Population Problems and Their Solutions Facing the Four Modernizations in China." 147 papers were read at the meeting. The meeting opened with a welcoming speech by Comrade Liu Haiquan, Vice-Chairman of SPRC, who pointed out the challenge Chinese family planners would face in advocating the 1 child family policy. Long speeches were made by Comrade Chen Dao who stressed the training of workers for Chinese population research and by Comrade Du Xinyuan (secretary of SPRC) who summarized results on recent family planning efforts in Sichuan. During the meeting, based on their contents, the papers were divided into 7 groups for separate discussions: 1) population development in the socialistic society, 2) relationship between population and economic developments and between population control and the 4 modernizations in China, 3) possible population problems in China, their nature, etiology and methods of solution, 4) population policies and family planning in China, 5) trends in population development and population planning in China, 6) problems of population distribution in China, and 7) development of population theories in China during the past 30 years. The meeting discussions were summarized by Comrade Liu Zheng of IPT who noted that there were 84 more attendants and 110 more papers in this meeting than the first held in 1978. |
