China to scrap harsh one child only slogans

China is to use softer slogans to promote the country's one-child policy.

According to a report in the People's Daily, the changes are being introduced by the National Population and Family Planning Commission as part of its so-called "Face-washing Project".

Some examples of the slogans to be phased out include: ""If you don't receive the tubal ligation (female sterilization) surgery by the deadline, your house will be demolished"; "We would rather scrape your womb than allow you to have a second child" and "Kill all your family members if you don't follow the rule", the newspaper says.

Another of the examples cited is: "Should you escape (sterilization), we'll hunt you down; If you attempt a suicide, we'll offer you either the rope or a bottle of poison."

The China Digital Times has also reported on the plans to overhaul the slogans, translating some of the "more macabre" ones shared online.  They include “To get your tubes tied is to honor your whole family” and “Better that your family be ruined than lose the country.”

Laws limiting Chinese couples in urban areas to one child were introduced in the 1970s to control population growth, the BBC explains. It says that implementing the law has been hugely controversial, and has frequently involved sterilization and even forced termination.

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The one-child policy has been blamed for causing a gender imbalance because families favor male children and selectively abort girls. One of the replacement slogans intended to address that issue is: "Caring for the girl means caring for the future of the nation."

Another says: "Please cure your illness before you plan to be a mother. Please get rid of the alcohol and cigarettes before you plan to be a father."

The People's Daily says it's hoped milder slogans will "avoid offending the public and stoking social tensions."

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