THE ONECHILD

POLICY, ITS
CONSEQUEN
CES AND
RECENT
EVOLUTIONS
Study Trip China

ABSTRACT
This is a research report
on a socio-cultural aspect
of China. We will discuss
the one-child policy of
this country, its
consequences and the
recent evolutions of the
policy.

Alix Gellynck &

Valeria Troisi 2IBM01
Artevelde University
College, Ghent

Contents
Introduction.......................................................................................................... 3
A brief history....................................................................................................... 4
1980 the one child policy officially goes mandatory............................................4
Exceptions to the law........................................................................................... 5
How do they enforce it?....................................................................................... 5
Nevertheless, what does the average Chinese person think?..............................5
Even if the fertility rate slowed down, why is China still so populous?.................6
Consequences of the One child policy..................................................................6
Will this policy come to an end?...........................................................................7
List of references.................................................................................................. 8

Introduction

The Chinese government says that the One Child Policy has restrained
Chinas mushrooming population (claiming that it has prevented an
estimated 400 million births since its inception in 1980). But critics say that
the law is a violation of basic human rights enforced by heartless
bureaucrats. (Mike, 2011)
Alix and Valeria chose to go on a study trip to China. Therefore, we had to
make a preparatory task. This task is a research report on one socio-cultural
aspect of China, namely the one-child policy. In this report, we will discuss
the one-child policy of China, its consequences and the recent evolutions.
We will start by explaining a little bit history in order to understand how they
came to the idea to introduce the One Child Policy. We will also explain some
of the critics and consequences this policy had on the Chinese population.
Finally, we will discuss the fact that this policy will be abolished in 2016 and
what possible causes this could have.

A brief history

Mao Zedongs Communist Party took control of China in 1949. It inherited the
most populous country on earth. China finally saw a population boom after a
century of war, unrest and epidemics. They also improved medical care and
sanitation. Initially, this growth was accepted by the leaders as an economic
advantage. For example, Hu Yaobang, secretary of the Communist Youth
League said: A larger population means greater manpowerthe force of 600
million liberated people is tens of thousands of times stronger than a nuclear
explosion.
However, a big problem was coming. How could such a great country
continue to feed its population? Mao was certain that the population was
fully capable of finding a solution. The solution was production.
During the 50s and 60s chinas population growth started taking a toll on
the nations food supply. Even the government changed during the 50s.
They provided contraceptives, developed voluntary birth control programs
and even supported abortion. Mao on the other side still thought that a
bigger population was advantageous. Mao told a visiting Yugoslav in 1957,
We arent afraid of atomic bombs. What if they killed even 300 million
[Chinese]? We would still have plenty moreChina would be the last country
to die. (China's growing nuclear power, 1965)
In 1958 Mao Zedong introduced The Great Leap Forward. It was a disastrous
attempt to rapidly convert China into a modern industrialized state. This
resulted into a nationwide food shortage. 20 to 30 million Chinese people
starved to death between 1958 and 1961. A propaganda campaign started to
put breaks on the population growth.
In the 70s, chinas population was over 800 million inhabitants. The Chinese
Communist Party launched a slogan: Late, Long and Few which means
delay marriage, increase the number of years between the children, and
have fewer children. The fertility rate plunged by more than half from 1970
to 1976.
After Mao Zedongs death, Deng Xiaoping took his place as the new leader of
China. Deng Xiaoping wanted to create a richer China, which Mao did not
achieve. (China Mike, n.d.)

1980 the one child policy officially goes mandatory

The original One Child Policy stated that the couples needed first to obtain
permission from local officials to have a baby. The CCP has continued the
policy, despite significant changes in Chinas economy and demography.

Exceptions to the law

There are many exceptions to the policy. This policy is not a uniform,
nationwide prohibition to have multiple children. The policy does not even
apply to the majority of Chinese citizens. In 2007, the National Population
and Family Planning Commission estimated that the policy only applied to
36% of the Chinese population. The rules vary by province and local area,
however, there are main exceptions. These exceptions include:
-

Ethnic minorities: the policy does not apply to the 55 ethnic minorities
such as Kazakhs, Tibetans
Rural residents: inhabitants in rural areas will typically permit a second
child, especially if the first one is female. This because there was a
massive protest by farmers who rely on their children to help work the
land.
When both parents are only children: neither has siblings, therefore,
they are allowed to have two children.

But even with exceptions, a lot of people did not follow the policy. Many
children were born illegally or secretly in the rural areas, and have therefore
no identity. Rich parents paid hefty fines to legally register and raise a
second or even third child. (China Mike, n.d.)

How do they enforce it?

There is use of incentives. The ones who follow the policy are awarded a
Certificate of Honor for Single Child Parents. Those rewards consists of
interest-free loans, longer maternity leave, social assistance and government
subsidies such as better health care, state housing, school enrollment etc.
Of course, there are also penalties involved. This can vary depending on
specific situations as well as by province. For the vast majority of people
caught breaking the law, the penalties are financial, large fines. For those
unwilling to pay, more heavy-handed tactics could be applied, such as
seizing property and houses, being dismissed from jobs, or by having their
children pulled out of school. The system makes it difficult to hide
unregistered children, therefore they cannot apply for schooling etc. There
were also drastic measures such as forced sterilization or abortion, but those
measures are relatively rare these days. (China Mike, n.d.)

Nevertheless, what does the average Chinese person think?

Many Chinese people today actually support the one-child policy. This was
not well received in the beginning because of the Chinese tradition of having
large families.
According to a 2008 Pew Research Poll, today about three-in-four (76%)
approve the policy. Chinas increasing wealth and urbanization has
contributed to the natural societal tendency towards smaller families. The
ones that approved this poll are those with higher incomes (85%) and those
living in cities (84%). (Global Attitudes Survey in China)
Even if the fertility rate slowed down, why is China still so populous?
Chinas population is 1,381,482,434 at the moment. (Worldometers, n.d.)
After three decades of the policy and lower fertility rates, there still are not
fewer Chinese people. There are few reasons to explain this.
Even if the policy has slowed down chinas population growth, the population
boom has been a drastic improvement in standards of living. The Chinese life
expectancy increased by an average of 1.5 years, every year between the
early 50s and 70s!
Due to the better health care, there was also a decline in mortality resulting
into a population explosion starting mid-20th century.
Consequences of the One child policy
There has been a lot of critics on this policy. For us, Westerners, it may seem
incomprehensible that a government could legislate how many children a
family can have, because this is considered by us as a fundamental human
right.
China has been accused of many things. The most serious criticisms involved
forced abortions, forced sterilization, official harassment, beatings and even
forced eviction. Fortunately, these abuses have grown less common
throughout the years.
Another negative effect of the one child law is the practice of female
infanticide. This is the act of intentionally aborting female fetuses, and even
infants. (Female infanticide, n.d.) Chinese culture has long had a strong
cultural preference for boys to carry on the family name.
Since the policy went into effect, china has had a significant gender
imbalance. This imbalance grew worse since ultrasound became widely
available in the mid-80s. In rural areas, it is not as common for parents to
abort female fetuses, as it is their first time around and since they are
allowed a second shot for a boy. However, there is good news! According to a

survey in 2009, of 3,500 prospective parents in Shanghai, 12% said that they
wanted a baby boy, while 15% wanted a baby girl. (China Mike, n.d.)
There are many reasons for these changing attitudes. They realized that girls
are also capable of taking care and running a familys business. They are
also better at a caretaker role for their parents. The gender imbalance has
made it much more difficult for Chinese men to get married. Chinese women
have grown increasingly picky with such a vast supply of willing suitors.
China has also a rapidly growing aging population. This is expected to
present significant social and economic challenges. Cheap Chinese labor is
coming to an end, and the total size of chinas labor force aged 20-24 will be
cut by 50 percent. There will be a shortage of young workers.
Will this policy come to an end?
China recently announced the end of its one-child policyheres why thats a
big deal for the country and what it says about the rest of the world.
Beginning 2016, many couples in China will be allowed to have another child.
Unfortunately, changing the One Child Policy will not entirely solve the
demographic issues China is facing. The decision to lift its policy in 2016 is
expected to diversify the countrys aging, increasingly male population. In
2013 a relaxation of policy allowed over 12 million couples to have a second
child. But only 12% of the couples applied.
When this policy will end this year most couples will be restricted to two
children. With the new economic and social pressure to succeed, many
Chinese people even refuse to have children! They are facing a new
challenge: how do they provide for an older population while also
encouraging younger residents to have more children? (Clarke, 2015)

List of references
http://www.china-mike.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/one-child-policyfamily-planning-poster.jpg
(Cover picture)
http://www.china-mike.com/chinese-culture/society/one-child-policy/
http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/china-population/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_infanticide
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151113-datapoints-china-onechild-policy/