A panda at Wolong national nature reserve in Sichuan province, China, called You You has given birth today to the first ever IVF panda cub named LuLu.

Artificial insemination is commonly used for breeding pandas. In 2006 there were 30 cubs born from donor sperm. However, using panda sperm that has been frozen earlier - instead of from an immediate donor - had not been successful before.

An aging Chinese population has made Shanghai's Population and Family Planning Commission launch a campaign to encourage eligible couples to give birth to a second child .

Population officials have started to inform families about their decision about the second child policy, according to Xie Lingli, director of the commission

Shanghai has about 3 million people aged 60 or older, 21.6 percent of the population," the commission director said.

"The rising number of retirees will put pressure on the younger generation and the social security system," Xie said.

Decades of a strictly enforced one-child policy has produced new strains across the population and prompted exceptions in some family categories. Rural parents are also allowed to have a second child, if the first-born is a girl.

This comes days after reported protests in Venice of the One Child policy that until now has been enforced in China. Xing Xin still has another 40 or so days left in the box protesting. Maybe it did all work after all?!

News Source:
Shanghai Daily
BBC