Agence France-Presse, 6/20/97

Published by: THE WORLD UYGHUR NETWORK NEWS, July 1, 1997

China may have as many as 100 million people who officially do not exist, according to the French author of a book on population on the mainland.

Resistance to Beijing's official policy of one child for every family, instituted in 1988 in an attempt to slow population growth, is increasing, writes Yves Blayo, author of Demographic Politics in China.

Parents and officials, particularly in rural areas, conspire to ignore the rule and are under-registering births by up to 60 per cent in some areas, Blayo said.

China's population stands at roughly 1.2 billion, according to 1995 figures - a level that has exceeded projections for the end of the century.