China warns parents against Hong Kong birth tours

Authorities in south China's Guangdong province say parents can be fined or punished for having more than one child, even if the babies are born in Hong Kong.

The warning is part of efforts to stem the tide of mainland mothers giving birth in Hong Kong hospitals. Birth tours to the semiautonomous Chinese territory have become an increasingly popular way to skirt China's strict family planning rules, which limit most urban couples to one child and rural couples to two.

The China Daily newspaper reported Wednesday that provincial family planning official Zhang Feng said Guangdong parents will be fined for out-of-plan births no matter where they happen and government employees fired.

The policy is not new but enforcement is inconsistent.

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