China's one child policy

China's one child policy

1. When?

   • 1979, introduced by Deng Xiaoping

2. Why?

   • The population growth of China was at 1.9% per year which was unsustainable
   • Several famines
   • Poverty
   • Overcrowding
   • Goal to keep the population below 1.3 billion by 2000

3. Punishment for disobeying

   • Very expensive fines: At least £2200, which is worth two decades of income in China
   • Benefits were taken away
   • Smaller wage
   • Had to pay for children's school and healthcare
   • If they couldn't pay the fine, their houses got destroyed, they got sacked andland was taken away from the family

4. Benefits when obeyed

   • Financial aid
   • Free healthcare for child
   • Better education opportunities

5. Rules of the policy

   • Strict initial rules
     • Only produce one child and you will receive benefits
     • If you have a girl or a handicapped child first, you are allowed a second child
     • If you were a part of an ethnic minority, you were exempt, to prevent a race dying out.
     • Forced abortion/sterilisation
   • Relaxed later Rules
     • If at least one of the parents is a single child, they can apply for second child
     • Benefits have become less significant
     • By 2005, only 1 in 5 children were only children
     • They are relaxing the rules, due to the ageing population
       • By 2050, more than 1/4 of the population will be over 65 years

6. Problems with enforcing it

   • Rural areas resisted against it, because it was tradition to have big families
     • Remote areas harder to control than urban areas
   • Some women were forced to abort a second child (Morally wrong)
     • Some people are against abortions (Goes against human rights)
   • Many women were forcibly steralised
   • By 1985, birth control surgeries, abortions, sterilisationsand IUD injections were increasing by 30 million a year
   • About 500 women committed suicide daily because of the pressure caused by the policy
   • Some abortion injections killed the pregnant women

7. Impacts

   • Positive
     • The birth rate fell to 0.7% increase per year
     • 400 million fewer people
     • Quick, so could be relaxed over time
   • Negative
     • Female infanticide
       • Gender imbalance: 60 million more men
         • Traditional preference for boys: They keep the family name, pass on heirlooms to sons and take care of parents in old age
       • 90% of foetus abortions were female
       • By 1985, birth control surgeries, abortions, sterilsations and IUD injections were growing by more than 30 million a year
     • Only children become spoilt: 'Little Emperors'
     • Ageing population
       • *(See impacts in specification)
       • Fewer working age people

8. Treatment of second child

   • Weren't allowed birth certificates, so they couldn't go to school or do anything legally
   • Black permit: Children not known about who were brought up by several people to prevent getting caught
   • Approximately 6 million undocumented children