China One Child Policy 8-11-07

8/11/07 China One Child Policy Population of China Population-1,298,847,624 Birth Rate-12.98 births/1000 population Death Rate- 6.92 deaths/1000 population Growth rate-0.57% Life expectancy-71.96 years 2004 figures The history of China is an important way of understanding how the problems arose: 1949-Peoples Republic of China founded. Communist rule led by Chairman Tse-Tung Mao 1950’s-Population grew. Mortality rates fell as a result of improved food and water supplies, better sanitation and better health care. 1958-1961- Population decline as a result of famine 1962-1973- Baby boom due to high fertility again as food supplies were restored. Between 1949 and 1988 the population almost doubled. Between the 1964 and 1974 the population increased by 200 million. Population Solutions This population increase left China facing a huge problem. The possibility of famine was looming once again as China couldn’t provide enough food for its rapidly expanding population. The Government had to come up with some drastic solutions to these problems in order to look after its population and be able to provide the basic necessities for survival. After introducing Family Planning in 1971. China came up with a radical solution that challenged people’s human rights. In 1979 China introduced a policy called the one child policy. The One Child Policy The basic rules of the Once Child Policy were as follows: 1. Late marriage-men were encouraged to not marry before they were 28 (25 in rural areas) and women no earlier than 25 years (23 in rural areas)

2. Longer spaces between births-parents encouraged to have a four year gap after the first child before they conceived again 3. Fewer children-urban families limited to two children, rural families to three. The motto was: “Later, longer, fewer” But the population numbers didn’t fall quickly enough. In 1979 the authorities tightened the policy, limiting all households to one child only. How did they do this? How can you stop families form having children? The key point to remember here is that the Government was Communist. This means they had a very tight control on the population and what they were allowed to do. There was a complicated system of rewards, fines, incentives and punishments. These included: 1. Massive advertising campaigns 2. Lower taxes if you had only one child 3. Forced abortions for women and sterilisation for mean 4. Free services for one child (e.g. travel, schooling) and heavy fees for additional children 5. Payments for “Informers” who told the authorities of family or friends planning or expecting and additional child. 6. Parents having to apply for a license in order to have a child. These were limited in their supply. Was the policy successful In many ways it was: - The average number of children per woman dropped form 6 to 2.6 in the 1970s - It is estimated that the policy reduced China’s population by 250 million - Standards of education are better, as resources are focused on the one child - Women have been able to concentrate on their careers rather than raising lots of children. The role of women in the workforce has improved. What Problems did the policy cause? Although the policy did reduce the population, it caused big controversy and many problems. These included:

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The termination of many pregnancies. Not only does this threaten the health of the mother, but what about the rights of the unborn child? Families hiding second and third children where the authorities couldn’t find the, Abandoned babies-the number of children in orphanages increased dramatically Female infanticide-it is considered better to have a baby boy as they are a heir, will carry on the family name and can work on the farm. Therefore there were many cases of the first born, if female, being killed to leave opportunity for another baby later on who may be male. Little emperor syndrome-as only allowed one child, parents lavished all their time and money on them, resulting in many spoilt children. Working aged adults-30 years on and the reduced number of births is having and unexpected side effect. There are now fewer people of working age than needed. An aging population-The baby booms of previous decades are now reaching old age. With fewer working aged adults, who is going to look after them in their retirement? Human rights-many people argue that China’s population policies goes against the population’s human rights and limits their choice and freedom. However, because China is a communist dictatorship and not a democracy like the UK it is much more difficult to change.