One-child policy

{{ChinesePolitics}}
The '''one-child policy''' was an initiative to reduce [[overpopulation]] via [[economics|economic]] pressures in the People's Republic of [[China]]. Adopted in 1979 under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping,<ref name=greenhalgh>[http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~smgreenh/bio/Greenhalgh-missle.pdf Missile Science, Population Science: The Origins of China’s One-Child Policy] by Susan Greenhalgh. ''China Quarterly'' 182, June 2005, pp. 253-276.</ref> and partially funded by the [[United Nations]] Population Fund, the policy limits families to 
one
 
two
 three [[child|children]] for the 36% of the population to which it applies.

The policy has successfully reduced population growth, and improved economic and [[environmental]] conditions to some extent, since families and communities are expending less money and fewer resources on children.<ref>[http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/11/six-consequences-of-one-child-policy-reform/281539/ Six Consequences of One-Child Policy Reform], ''The Atlantic''</ref> However, critics have claimed that these benefits could have occurred anyway as part of economic trends or under less oppressive policies.<ref>[http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2010/09/24-china-one-child-policy-wang China’s One Child Policy at 30], Brookings Institution</ref> The latter argument seems to have won out, with [[Xi Jinping]] starting to loosen the policy in 2013.<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-24957303 China reforms: One-child policy to be relaxed], BBC</ref> In October 2015, the CPC announced they would replace the policy with a two-child policy.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-34665539], BBC</ref> This was itself replaced with a three-child policy in 2021, which was likely done to slow down China's rapidly aging population.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-57303592 China allows three children in major policy shift], ''BBC''</ref> In July 2021, China announced that it would no longer issue fines against familes that exceed the three-child limit, effectively ending the child limit.<ref>https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/21/china-scraps-fines-for-families-violating-childbirth-limits.html</ref>

The policy has its origins in the work of Song Jian, a top-level Chinese scientist, who was trained in cybernetics and military science.<ref name=greenhalgh/> Song did not have experience in demography, but was instead influenced by the Club of Rome's views on population and the environment as published in ''The Limits to Growth''.<ref>[http://www.donellameadows.org/wp-content/userfiles/Limits-to-Growth-digital-scan-version.pdf ''The Limits to Growth: A Report for the Club of Rome's Project on the Predicament of Mankind''] by Donella H. Meadows et al., (1972) Universe. ISBN 0876631650.</ref> Rather than seek out the advice of demographers, as there were none in China at the time, Song instead applied his expertise in cybernetics to population control.<ref name=greenhalgh/>

==Enforcement==
The policy is applied at a provincial level, and enforcement naturally varies. One-child restrictions apply most rigidly within urban areas. Couples in rural areas are often allowed a second child if their first child was a daughter. Enforcement is most strict when applied to the Han, China's dominant ethnic group; ethnic minorities are allowed to have two, three, or four children, depending on the regional policy. In some rural areas, the policy is largely relaxed.

[[Affirmative action]] policies exempt ethnic minorities from the policy, although they are usually restricted to two children in urban areas. In [[Tibet]], family restrictions are not enforced, at least among the native Tibetans. The policy has not been extended to the Special Administrative Regions of Macao and Hong Kong, which were reunited with China in recent years.

Couples must be [[marriage|married]] before they have their child, must apply for permission, and undergo a rigorous screening process. Families in rural areas can apply to have a second child, and so can urban families under some special circumstances, such as if the first child is physically or mentally [[disability|disabled]], or if both parents are from one-child families. Where second and subsequent children are allowed, "birth spacing" is expected, meaning that the first child must be at least three or four years old first.

[[Contraception]] is freely available and its use is mandatory to avoid illegal births. [[Abortion]] is also widely used, sometimes against the couple's wishes, although forced abortions are now officially illegal. Couples who are found to have had multiple children without permission are fined heavily, and made to pay schooling and [[health care]] costs which would otherwise be [[state]]-funded. Unofficial practices reported in some jurisdictions include forced abortions, forced sterilizations, and infanticide. Many parents simply choose to not register their children at birth.

==Human rights issues==
The policy's [[human rights]] implications are highly controversial, leading to criticisms from both within and outside China, some tensions in [[international relations]], and rocky relations between the [[United States]] and the UN Population Fund, which backs the measure. The issue is also falsely used by some [[Pro-life|anti-abortion activists]] in the US as some sort of boogeyman to suggest what would happen to the country if those nasty [[pro-choice]] people had their way.

In itself, the principle of restricting a couple's [[reproductive rights|right to reproduce]] is regarded by many as an infringement of [[civil liberties]], regardless of the economic reasons behind such a restriction.<ref>[http://www.goldenventuremovie.com/China_Human_Rights.htm Golden Venture: Human Rights in China]</ref> Enforcement methods can violate human rights, including some of the official and unofficial practices mentioned above, such as involuntary abortions or sterilizations.

The screening process undertaken before marriage is highly controversial, essentially amounting to [[eugenics]]. Physically or mentally disabled individuals, including those with common conditions such as dyslexia, are banned from marrying and procreating. The intent is to promote a "healthy population", and this attitude is reflected within society, with disabled people being stigmatized, and couples wanting a healthy child. Disabled children are often given away for adoption, officially or unofficially, and may even be abandoned or killed.<ref>[http://www.theatlantic.com/past/issues/96apr/orphan/orphan.htm In a Chinese Orphanage], ''The Atlantic''</ref>

There is also a [[Sexism|strong preference for sons]] for cultural and economic reasons. This means that female [[foetus]]es are often aborted, and female infanticide is widespread in some areas.<ref>Zeng Yi, Tu Ping, Gu Baochang, Xu Yi, Li Bohua, and Li Yongpiing. "Causes and Implications of the Recent Increase in the Reported Sex Ratio at Birth in China." ''Population and Development Review'' Vol. 19, No. 2 (Jun., 1993), pp. 283-302 [http://www.jstor.org/pss/2938438]</ref> Although these practices are illegal, they have had a notable effect on birth ratios, with male to female births now up to almost 12:10.

==Pressures on children==
Chinese couples invest a heavy burden of expectations in their child. The child is expected to excel at school, attain a successful career, find a respectable marriage partner, and ultimately support a family as well as aging parents. Although these pressures are common in many countries, they are intensified by placing the onus on a single child.

From a young age, children are under pressure for academic achievement, with much of their time spent cramming in schooling and extra-curricular activities chosen by their parents, such as music or competitive sport, and little time given over to conventional childhood activities such as play.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/7027377/Third-of-Chinese-primary-school-children-suffer-stress-study-finds.html Third of Chinese primary school children suffer stress, study finds], ''The Telegraph''</ref> The expectation to excel continues throughout life, with those who are unsuccessful in their work or personal life suffering shame and disrespect.

Since the policy is now into its second generation, one-child couples are often caring for or supporting their retired parents and grandparents, as well as their children, to a much greater extent than in countries where care for the elderly is shared among larger families.

==See also==
*[[Birth control]]
*[[Cornucopian vs. Malthusian debate]]
*[[Overpopulation]]
*[[Reproductive rights]]
*[[Voluntary Human Extinction Movement]] — For those who'd prefer a ''zero''-child policy.
*[[Nicolae Ceaușescu]] — [[Romania]]n dictator who instituted a bizarre inverse of the policy, banning abortions altogether and punishing women with low birthrates with a celibacy tax.

{{otherlang
|zh=一孩政策}}

==External links==
*[http://theconversation.com/the-costs-and-benefits-of-chinas-one-child-policy-20467 The costs and benefits of China’s one-child policy], ''The Conversation''
*[http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/world/the-consequences-of-chinas-one-child-policy/315/ The consequences of China's one-child policy], ''Washington Post''

==References==
{{reflist|2|90%}}

[[Category:Birth]]
[[Category:Chinese politics]]
[[Category:Human rights]]
[[Category:Environment]]
[[Category:Economics]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Discrimination]]
[[Category:Sexism]]

Categories: Birth, Chinese politics, Human rights, Environment, Economics, Statistics, Discrimination, Sexism