Name: ________________________________________________ Date: _________ Period: ______

Chapter 8 Central Case: China’s One Child Policy

Sixty years ago, about 540 million people lived in a mostly rural, war-torn China. Then, a new leader, Mao Zedong, took
charge. Under his leadership, China grew and changed. Although the start of this change was tumultuous, eventually
people had greater access to food, and public health improved. By 1970, China’s population had grown to about 790
million people. At that time, each Chinese woman had an average of about 5.9 children in her lifetime.

But China’s population growth was taking a toll on the environment. Soils were eroding. Forests and water supplies were
diminishing. The air was becoming more and more polluted. Chinese leaders realized that the nation might not be able to
feed its people if the population kept growing as rapidly. To prevent a catastrophic strain on the nation’s resources, the
government started a population-control program.

The program began with education and outreach that encouraged people to marry at an older age and have fewer children.
But these initial efforts didn’t meet the government’s goals. In 1979, the government set up a new system. It used rewards
and punishments to enforce a one-child limit. Families with one child received access to better schools, medical care,
housing, and government jobs. Mothers of a single child were given longer maternity leaves. Couples with more than
onechild, meanwhile, were fined. In some cases, the fines were more than half of what the couple earned in a year!
Socially, these families were scorned and ridiculed.

Since 1979, the one-child policy has been reworked several times. Today, the policy applies mostly to couples who live in
cities. Families that live in more rural areas may be allowed to have more children to help work on farms and support their
families. But what about the approximately 36 percent of the Chinese population bound by this policy? Are there
ways around the rules?
Directions: Use the information from the reading to answer the questions below. You do not need complete
sentences.
1. Why did China start the One Child Policy?
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2. Approximately what percent of China’s population is bound to the one-child rule?

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3. What are three reasons a couple might be exempt from the one-child rule?
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4. What medical technology have some Chinese chosen to pursue in order to increase the possibility of
multiple children in a single pregnancy?
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5. Do you think that more countries should adopt China’s one-child policy? Explain your
answer.
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6. Why might wealthy families be able to avoid the one-child policy more easily than poor
families?
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7. What is one loophole to the one-child policy?

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