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Omar Vera

Professor Close

ENG 100

April 24th, 2017

One-Child Policy

China is undoubtedly one of the worlds most populated country with over 1.3 BILLION

people living there. The number would be a lot higher if it wasnt for the family planning policy

put into effect on September 18th, 1980 by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. The reason for this

was to control the population in China from increasing, and to prevent any social, economical,

and environmental problems that was persisting with the rapid population growth. While success

is determined differently in many countries, it was deemed as an extremely successful effort to

the government in China. Many one-sided arguments still come up to this day, saying that it was

a terrible idea and that it should have never happened in the first place. In reality, while it did

have some negative effects, it had benefits as well.

One positive aspect it brought was in fact that it did was it was intended to do; control the

population. Around the time that it was implemented, Chinas population was nearing 1 billion. It

was projected that numbers would increase up to 1.2 billion by the year 2000 (Unknown author,

5 Things To Know). It turns out that seven years later, they hit 1.4 billion and growing. Although

the increase in people was drastic, it was estimated that the policy prevented over 400 million

births. With that in mind, resources werent becoming a scarcity, they were in fact rising, which

helped out a lot of families as well as poverty rates lowering by a bit. (studentnovasbe, One

Child Policys Effort) As of 2016, China makes up around 20% of the worlds population in total.
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A big difference between American and Asian culture is the educational expectations one

is accounted to. In Asia, it is perceived that education is what one must obtain in order to be

successful in life. To fit the stereotype that Asians are good in math or how theyre smart in

general its true (to an extent). What the one-child policy did was it made parents/guardians

focus all their attention and finances towards one individual, instead of two and help them

succeed. Not only will they have the money to send their child out to university somewhere in

the US or wherever they please, they will also be financially stable in doing so thanks to the

support of his/her parents. This is not to be confused with Little Emperor Syndrome, what they

are doing is helping their child become successful instead of making them become lazy and cater

to all their needs. (Lombardo, Pros and Cons)

While a portion of the society didnt see anything wrong with the implementation of this

policy, others saw it differently. They believed that this policy was going against their human

rights. In 1968, The proclamation of the International Conference on Human Rights stated that

Parents have a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and the

spacing of their children. (Unknown author, 4 Pros and Cons) The sad part was that it didnt

matter in China, in fact it was non-existent. The rules/exceptions stated that if the first born is a

girl, they are allowed to have a second child. Parents who are also only children themselves are

able to have a second one. (Tsinsolas, Exceptions) Many who didnt fall under these guidelines

and were caught going against them were subjected to harsh punishments.

Going back to their human rights being violated in order to keep the population low, this

relates to what the punishments were. Some were light and reasonable, others were inhumane

and forced. Families that are caught violating the policy by having an additional child were to

pay a Social Maintenance Fee, which is paying three to six times the citys average yearly
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income. (Unknown author, Consequences of the One-Child Policy) Failure to pay the fee meant

the child not being allowed to get a household registration or any social benefits from the

government, like health care or even the rights to attend a school. It can get a lot more severe, as

families have stated that officials have gone as far as to destroy their houses and wreck their

furniture for refusing to pay the fee. (Unknown author, Consequences of the One-Child Policy)

Women were to also carry out forced abortions and sterilizations if they were to give birth to

another child, some as far as to commit infanticide. Many could have given birth and got away

with it, but with whistleblowers everywhere it was hard to do so.

This has also lead to what seemed to be a gender imbalance. In 2009, China had 119

male births for every 100 female births. (The Globalist, Gender Imbalance) This carried out with

a negative influence. It meant that once males reached adulthood, they would be unable to find a

wife, which can be a danger to society as some experts state. Studies show that men who have a

limited social life because of the lack of female companions are more prone to commit violent

and illegal acts, such as drug abuse, increased gambling, and kidnapping and trafficking women.

(The Globalist, Where Young Men Are Looking For Brides) Although a male dominated era,

parents preferred it this way, for the belief that sons would be better to protect them at an old age.

This is known as the 4-2-1 phenomenon, where once the child reaches working age, he or she

could have to care for two parents and four grandparents.

Finally, on January 1st, 2016, the policy was abolished and all Chinese couples are

allowed to have two children. From a frightening era to put a stop on rising population growth to

now, it has been a long journey for all of China. Social & environmental problems are slowing

declining, which is giving both children and parents a better quality of life. Although birth

controls are still a thing to consider, its nothing compared to a forced abortion or sterilization.
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Works Cited

9 Advantages and Disadvantages of the One Child Policy. FutureofWorking.com, 9 April,

2016. Web. 24 April, 2017. https://futureofworking.com/9-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-the-

one-child-policy/

10 Biggest Pros and Cons of the One Child Policy. Flowpsychology.com, 1 June, 2015. Web.

24 April, 2017. https://flowpsychology.com/10-biggest-pros-and-cons-of-the-one-child-policy/

5 things to know about Chinas 1-child policy. Cba.ca, CBC/Radio Canada, 29 Oct. 2015.

Web. 24 April, 2017. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/5-things-to-know-about-china-s-1-child-

policy-1.3294335

4 Pressing Pros and Cons of the One Child Policy. Greengarbageblog.com, 6 Mar. 2013. Web.

25 April, 2017. https://greengarageblog.org/4-pressing-pros-and-cons-of-the-one-child-policy

Consequences of the one-child policy. Economist.com, The Economist Newspaper Limited, 16

June, 2012. Web. 25 April, 2017.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/analects/2012/06/consequences-one-child-policy

The Gender Imbalance of the One-Child Policy. Theglobalist.com, The Globalist, 10 Nov.

2015. Web. 25 April, 2017. https://www.theglobalist.com/male-children-china-population-gender/

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China: Where Young Men Are Looking for Brides. Theglobalist.com. The Globalist, 5 April,

2015. Web. 25 April, 2017. https://www.theglobalist.com/china-where-young-men-are-looking-

for-brides/