CHINA’S ONE CHILD POLICY By Rachael Dean

WHAT IS IT? China’s One Child policy is a policy that the Chinese government introduced in 1979 to try and solve the problem of overpopulation. It’s main purpose was to make sure that China could support its large population with facilities such as healthcare, education, housing, good jobs and most importantly, food. The aim was to reduce poverty and to improve overall quality of life for the people. The Policy is not formally written into Chinese law but it is strictly enforced with three main factors. These are: Favouring delayed marriage and delayed child birth Favouring fewer and healthier births, rather than more unsuccessful ones Laying down the rule of one child per couple. The one child policy is very hard to enforce but the presence of it has definitely played a part in improving China’s overpopulation problem.

WERE YOU AWARE…? From birth up to 18, a single child can cost you on average up to £90,000! And that’s just one child, think what two or three will do to you’re bank balance! CAN YOU REALLY AFFORD??? Think of the whining, sick, dirty nappies, mess, visits to the doctor, lifestyle changes, childcare and precautions you will have to compensate for! CAN YOU REALLY COPE? Think of all the sacrifices you will have to make if you decide to become a parent too soon. No more late night drinking binges, no more social life, no more self- indulgences, no more luxurious holidays, no more undisturbed nights. WHEN IS THERE TIME FOR YOU? Think of a whole future looking out for someone else, thinking why did it work out this way, it wasn’t supposed to be this way, if only I could go back and change things. ARE YOU REALLY READY?

IT MAKES SENSE! OBEY DISOBEY 1.You will get a higher standard of education for your child. 2.There is an increased role for both parents in the workplace. 3.You will be provided with support about other birth control measures. 1.Your second child and any others you decide to have will be unregistered. 2.Your second child will not receive any authorised education. 3.You will not be supported with future child birth control ☑ ☒

WHY ONLY 1? The benefits of having only one child are: You have more time to concentrate on that one child and therefore, you will be able to show them much more love You won’t be put under as much financial strain as you would be if you were to have more than one child. There is much less hassle to deal with! Less nappies, less crying, less sleepless nights, less baby gear to buy, less money to save etc. One child will not take up as much of your time as two or three will, so you will have more time to concentrate on you and focus on a career maybe. Your child is much more likely to become successful if you are able to spend more time supporting it. You will be able to offer your child a better quality of life if you are able to focus all of your attention on it, rather than numerous children.

THE FACTS: Although the one child policy seems like an extremely harsh and controversial method of controlling the population, it isn’t as harsh as it may seem at first. The one child policy hasn’t actually been made law yet and it depends on which area of the country you live in as to how much it affects you. In some areas which have a low population anyway, the policy is very lenient, whereas in Sichuan, the policy is strictly adhered to in both rural and urban areas because it is overpopulated. As nearly 50% of China’s population live in the countryside, many are permitted to have two children because for the majority of places, the policy only applies to urban areas. Over the 30 years of family planning that China’s government has enforced, the population growth has been reduced by 300 million, showing that the rules must be benefiting the country. There are also other circumstances where a couple may be entitled to have another child if they wish. For example, if a husband and wife are both from a one child family, they are permitted to raise two children. Couples are also entitled of their first child is born handicapped or dies.

HOW IS IT ENFORCED? As you can imagine, enforcing a policy as strict as this is an extremely taxing challenge. However the Chinese government has implemented ways in ensuring hat it’s population stick to the rules they have been given. These rules include: Penalties given to anyone found breaking the policy. This may be given in money, up to yuans(approx.13yuan to £1). It could also be paid in livestock which is precious for families for food. Benefits such as rice rations are not given to families with more than one child. In some rural areas, peasants are encouraged to have more than one child to increase the amounts received from punishment fines. This money is then used to benefit the community and improve living conditions.

“IT’S A FAILURE!” GOVERNMENT’S OUT OF ORDER The One Child Policy is having negative effects on China’s population too. There will soon be, and already is a sign of an ageing population which will mean the government will have to put more money onto healthcare and pensions with fewer youngsters around to carry out the work. By the year 2025, the percentage of over 65s in China could reach 30% and instead of the traditional method of children caring for their elders, China’s elderly will have to be put into social retirement care as there won’t be enough youngsters to support them. Children are becoming far too spoilt! Parents are treating their only children like royalty, and obese, demanding boys are being seen far too often now and they will have big problems when they reach their teens. I thought this policy was meant to improve living conditions! FORGET BABY BOOM…WHAT ABOUT THIS BACHALOR BOOM This ridiculous attempt of a policy is seriously affecting China’s sex ratio. Since the 1980s, our ratio has become completely disfigured and the male to female ratio is now 116:100. So much for killing of baby girls and an increase in abortion rates. China could have completely devastated it’s future as there will soon be a shortage in the number of young fertile women and then there will be even fewer births. China is forcing young men to remain single, there to be an increase in prostitution and the status of women may well go down in an already overpowering male society. What a disaster!

EVALUATION: Overall, China’s One Child policy has ultimately done what it set out to do. However, it cannot be hailed a success as there have also been some serious consequences including a rise in prostitution, a lack of fertile women within the middle age group, a rise in the number of unregistered children and a host of other problems. China was getting to a point where it was going to become drastically overpopulated and the government was right to try and implement a system which would reduce numbers. However, it went too far in trying to implement this rule and there are many people who think that the whole system has been a fiasco. There is a vast shortage in females compared to males and this has made China and even more male dominated country than it already was. China may have began to control it’s population, but has it really solved the problem of bring the country up to date and created a better standard of living for its people?