"The policy came out in a special age, when curbing population growth was a paramount goal. But it should be adapted to the real situation," Zhang added.

But some netizens expressed worries.

"In many such families, parents are no longer young enough to have kids," said one from the central Hubei Province anonymously. "In fact, middle-aged parents could choose to adopt or resort to high-tech measures to give birth to another child."

The statement said child-bearing consultation and relevant technological services should also be provided free of charge.

If these families were willing to adopt children orphaned in the quake, relevant agencies should give priority, according to the statement.

A netizen from the southern Guangdong Province suggested that mature couples be given the first chance at adoption.

According to the statement from the earthquake relief headquarters of the State Council, the country's Cabinet, all school buildings in the quake zone should be appraised. Buildings whose design and construction violated the construction standard should be dealt with according to the law.

"I believe that the government should give us a satisfactory answer for the death of my daughter," said a pale women with disheveled hair who declined to be named.

Her daughter was among 127 dead in the Fuxin No. 2 Primary School in Mianzhu City. The building was leveled within 10 seconds. However, most of the surrounding residences remained standing, including those built in the 1960s.

A Xinhua reporter witnessed that the steel reinforcement rods inside the collapsed school building were "even thinner than straws of wheat."

On May 25, more than 100 parents of children killed in the school collapse marched downtown with slogans reading "We need a reply for the undeserved victims," as well as photographs of their children. They questioned the construction quality and asked the authorities to investigate.

It was a quiet protest and they planned to reach the seat of Deyang City less than 50 km away.

Jiang Guohua, Mianzhu City Party secretary, knelt down four times trying to persuade the crowd not to go any further.

"I promise to produce a solution within a month. If the collapse was caused by construction problems, we will seriously deal with it according to the law. We will mete out due punishment to people accountable for that, as well as compensate the victims' families," he said.

"We want to get the answer in Deyang," said the unnamed mother, whose eyes were dry, apparently drained of tears.