Lawyer files suit to release data on social support fees

A lawyer has filed a lawsuit against the health and family planning commissions of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces for their refusal to release information on social support fees, a compulsory levy paid by families that violate the country's family planning policy.

In July, Wu Youshui, a lawyer from Zhejiang province, asked 31 provincial-level family planning commissions and treasury bureaus to release information on how subsistence fees were levied and spent in 2012.

By Nov 7, Wu had still not received replies from seven provincial-level authorities.

Among the authorities that responded to Wu's request, Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces said that they have not been authorized to disclose such information.

Chinese families that exceed the number of children allowed by law have to pay a subsistence fee to compensate for the government's additional spending on public services and natural resources.