China has abolished (废除) its controversial birth restrictions, reversing (彻底改变) nearly four decades of family planning policies as birth rates fall.

China began implementing (实施) the one-child policy in the 1980s to slow population growth. But in recent years concern is accumulating that an ageing and shrinking workforce could slow China’s economy, while gender imbalances could lead to social problems. And the limit was raised to two children in 2016 as the nation tried to rejuvenate (使恢复活力) its ageing population of 1.4 billion.

However, child births have not increased as much as forecast since the two-child policy came into force. Couples have been in no rush to start larger families since the policy was loosened, with 17.9 million babies born in 2016 — just 1.3 million more than in the previous year, half of what was expected, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Births in 2017 even slipped to 17.2 million, well below the official forecast of more than 20 million.

And there has been an assumption that the government will further ease restrictions. Other changes include a one-month cooling-off period before a divorce, during which either party (一方当事人) can withdraw their application.

News of the changes lit up social media. “So they want us to have more babies and fewer divorces? ”wrote one user on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter. “The created generation, us only children, let’s gather together and prepare to work into old age,” another user wrote. “Having children is good, which eases the government’s health care cost for the elderly. ”

Hong Fincher said it remained to be seen how the Chinese government would adopt any changes. She said incentives(激励) to have more children had not worked and that the government might resort to other measures.

Can you imagine a bicycle that has an iPhone on its handle and provides navigation tools and fitness information, along with data collectors that measure air pollution? This is just the beginning of the list of things that this dynamic new bicycle, known as the Copenhagen Wheel, is capable of. The biggest characteristic of this bike is its red hub (轮轴) on the back wheel, where the brain of the bike stores power, increases speed, monitors the rider’s exercise, and collects data from the air and the environment. The data that is collected is put onto a public website so citizens can find out what their city’s atmosphere is like during the day.

The Copenhagen Wheel comes to us from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S.A. It was developed by a part of MIT that is putting “intelligence” into everyday things that are a part of the infrastructure (基本设施) of our cities. Researchers from MIT chose the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change to show off the new bicycle, and early feedback (反馈) was very positive.

The goal of the Copenhagen Wheel project is to promote (促进) cycling by lengthening the distance people can cover. In addition, the makers ensure the whole bike riding experience is smoother so that even steep (陡峭的) roads are no longer a problem for comfortable cycling. This new bicycle is also perfect for protecting the environment, and many big cities are making plans to encourage their citizens to use this two-wheeler when they go to and from work. The director of the Copenhagen Wheel project, Christine Outram, expects that this new bike will help lead the charge of smart transportation into the 21st century. She is fully convinced that many big cities will see the benefits of promoting this type of cycling to their citizens.