PIP: 4 areas are covered in this speech delivered on January 10, 1983. 1) Looking back on China's post-Liberation population problems: as early as the 1950s, the Party and scholars such as Ma Yinchu recognized the need to control population growth. For instance, a 1952 directive instructed the Public Health Bureau to encourage the use of condoms and diaphrams. When Ma Yinchu's studies showing alarming population increases were made known to Mao Zedong and published in the People's Daily in 1957, the "new population theory" was formed, which advocated population control. But before this idea gained currency, Ma suffered criticism in 1958 and population studies was virtually halted. Between 1958-61, as China entered difficult times, the birthrate declined. By 1962 the rate increased, leading the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party to issue a directive to control population. Again in 1971 the Central Government set population goals and incorporated population policies into national economic planning. When the wrongs of the Cultural Revolution were redressed, Ma Yinchu regained favor and demography entered a new era. 2) The responsibility of demographic studies: one of the most important tasks of demography is to solve the problem of confining the birthrate to 16-17/1000 annually, so that by 2000 the total population would be 1,200,000,000. This can only be done by advocating 1 child per couple, closely con trolling a 2nd birth and discouraging all 3rd births. 3) The contents of demographic studies: both immediate and future problems must be addressed. Areas of study can include sex ratio, marriage, family, population and land distribution, fertility, or an aging society. 4) Science research must embody a scientific attitude: it is best to follow the example set by Ma Yinchu, whose work was based on actual investigations in the field. Any development and production of scientific theory must stem from practical experience.