Why could some rural families have a second or third child under the one-child policy?

Although the one-child policy was intended to be a universal program to limit most families to a single child, the Chinese government implemented it with regional variations and specific exceptions.1

In rural areas, where traditional agrarian extended families often resisted the one-child restriction, enforcement was generally more lenient than in urban environments. To accommodate these social realities, authorities occasionally allowed rural families in certain areas to have a second or even a third child.1

Additionally, broader exceptions were established that applied to various families regardless of their location, including:
* Parents belonging to certain ethnic minority groups.1
* Parents whose firstborn child was handicapped.1
* Parents whose firstborn was a girl (in some specific policy modifications).1
* Couples where both parents were only children.1

These adjustments were part of sporadic efforts by the government to modify the policy over time before it was officially rescinded in 2016.1