Chinese Officials Break 1-Child Policy

Nearly 2,000 officials in central China's Hunan province have been caught breaking China's strict one-child policy, state media reported Sunday.

Xinhua said the officials were caught between 2000 and 2005 by the provincial family planning commission and included 21 national and local lawmakers and 24 political advisers.

China has about 1.3 billion people, 20 percent of the world's total. The government has pledged to keep the population under 1.36 billion in 2010, and under 1.45 billion in 2020.

But rising incomes mean some newly rich can afford to break the rules and pay resulting fines. In April, the government said it would crack down on rich lawbreakers with bigger fines.