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Tag: one child policy

  • One-Child Policy In China May Change

    China’s controversial one-child policy has just changed, slightly. Officials announced Friday that married couples in which the wife or husband has no siblings, can have a second child. That means that approximately 15 to 20 million married couples are now allowed to have that second child without serious consequences. China realized its strict policy had had some seriously adverse effects on the gender balance of the population, which led to this change.

    The one-child policy is the population control policy of the People’s Republic of China and was created and applied in 1997. This was China’s effort to control the population boom, as well as social, economic, and environmental problems this country faced. Although it caused quite an outcry, the biggest percentage of the Chinese population agreed, after all, the policy prevented up to 250 million more people between 1980 and 2000 and 400 million from about 1979 to 2011. Who could argue with that in an already extremely overpopulated nation.

    With the new change in the one-child policy though, expert Wang Feng, professor of sociology at the University of California Irvine stated, “A baby boom can be safely ruled out.” The restrictions put in place could increase population, but not by enough to create a huge increase. China is by far the most highly populated nation in the world, coming in at 1,361,110,000 people in 2013.

    The policy was put in place due to the extreme overpopulation China faced, but sadly, extreme measures were sought for those who disobeyed the law. Fines, forced abortion and sometimes worse, i.e, some parents in other parts of China have accused local family planning officials of abducting babies who are considered “extra” children in a household and selling them to orphanages, sometimes for $3,000 per baby.

    Added to that horror, the fines alone in nineteen province-level governments placed on couples who had that second child, brought in approximately $2.7 billion dollars to those governments.

    Adding to the theory of a no baby-boom result, young couples have become accustomed to the one-child law and have given up on the thought of a second child entirely. A big percentage of China’s population, such as Xia Gaolong and his wife, who are among those that will be allowed to have a second child as a result of the new policy, said he has no intention of giving his 10-year-old son a sibling.

    “No way will I have another child,” said Xia, who is in his late 30s. “There are so many pressures in life in today’s society, and our children will face only more pressures.”

    Experts see this change as a meaningful step toward in reversing the strict family planning and returning reproductive rights to parents, which is being considered.

    “China is testing the water now,” Wang Feng said. “When they don’t see a baby boom, there will be more confidence to let the policy go altogether.”

    Image via Wikimedia

  • China’s One-Child Policy Now Relaxed

    Until recently, China had a one-child policy that was introduced in 1979. The policy was created to alleviate social, economic, and environmental problems in China. Multiple births such as twin or triplets were did not qualify for a penalty, but parents who had more than one child born at different times were given penalties.

    Many people frowned on the policy, saying it was a violation of human rights and contributed to the growing number of abortions, abandonment and infanticides in China. Chinese authorities consider the policy a great success in helping to implement China’s current economic growth.

    A recent relaxation in the policy has led many people to believe that a baby boom will soon take place in China, but the experts aren’t so sure about that. The relaxation allows parents who are only children and the parents of only one child, to have another child without receiving a penalty.

    While many parents who are permitted to have another child likely will, many others are not jumping at the opportunity. The one-child policy has led many people in China to get used to the idea of having only one child. Many say that their economic status is better because they only have one child and others are not sure that they can afford another.

    Not only has the policy had a major impact on economics in China, but also the perspectives of citizens who are able to have children. More Chinese citizens are focusing on their careers and social lives instead of building large families.

    Chinese officials are likely to remove the policy altogether in the near future if they do not see a large growth in births among those who are allowed to have more children. Do you think the relaxation of the policy will cause a baby boom?

    Image from Wikimedia Commons.

  • One-Child Policy To Be Relaxed By China Amid Labor Force Concerns

    China seems to be loosening on its One-Child policy as part of economic reforms. Other Communist party plans are re-education through labor policy and increased mobility for the rural population. This was announced by Chinese state media on Friday, days after the conclusion of a meeting of top Communist party leaders in Beijing.

    The reforms were arrived at after four days of closed door meetings where about 400 top party leaders resolved to design China’s development blueprint over the next decade. Under the new policy, couples in which one member is an only child will be allowed to have two children.

    Currently, couples can only have two children if and only if they are both only children. Other groups who are allowed to have two children include ethnic minorities, and disabled people. According to the Independent, the one-child policy was introduced in 1979 to control the country’s huge population which now stands at 1.4 billion people. The policy was also put in place to bolster China’s economic growth and improve social welfare.

    http://youtu.be/bszyNiBa2yM

    Chinese Officials say that the policy has so far been a success by claiming that the Chinese population would have been about 400 million more people than it is today. However, human rights activists have argued that the policy has led to high number of abortions. Consequently, more baby girls than boys are aborted due to the traditional preference for boys. As a result, there are about 6 males born for every 1 female newborn.

    The unpopular law also led to a shortage of working age people who can care for the aging population.  Professor Steve Tsang, from the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies at Nottingham University, said: “This move is primarily to deal with the demographic deficit, which has huge economic implications, particularly over growth and stability.”

    Although details of the re-education through labor programs are still unclear, a document from the communist party shows that the reforms will lead to improved social welfare programs, and ease migration restrictions for millions of rural residents who wish to move to the cities.

    (image via YouTube)

  • China Announces New One Child Policy

    China Announces New One Child Policy

    In an announcement made on Friday, China leaders decided they would gradually start easing up on its decades old, one child policy.

    The new law states that parents can have two children if either parent was an only child. The new law represents a significant change in China’s future economy and population.

    The one child policy was first introduced in 1970 when China’s population started growing at an uncontrollable rate. From 1949 to 1976, China’s population grew by 400 million people.

    “In the 1980s, when the one-child policy was implemented, it was needed to stop the rapid population growth and increase per-capita income,” said Zhou Haiwang, an expert in population studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. “Now, 30 years later, it has achieved that goal. Now it is time to increase the fertility rate to benefit our society in the long term,” Zhou said.

    Not only has the policy led to an extreme gender imbalance, but it has also made the leaders of the country worry about a labor shortage in the future. Nearly 118 boys were born for every 100 girls in 2012.

    “There’s an economic reason (behind the move), because China now starts to worry that in 20 years or even less, there will be a labor shortage,” said Cheng Li, the director of research and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center in Washington, D.C.

    Several experts believe the policy will be fade completely in the coming years, including Wang Feng, a Chinese population expert and the director of the Brookings-Tsinghua Centre for Public Policy in Beijing.

    “I would not be surprised if a year from now, we’re going to see more and even a complete abandonment of the policy,” said Feng. “The government is testing the waters right now. They know that the policy will have to be gone. The policy serves nobody’s interests,” he said.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • China to Shift Economy, Loosen One Child Policy

    A reform document released by China’s Communist party, after a four day-long meeting of its top officials, includes a flood of sweeping changes to reportedly attempt to undo decades of failed expansion plans, according to Reuters.

    Among the reform plans are allowances that would accelerate capital account convertibility and scrap residency restrictions in small cities and townships. There are also plans to integrate urban and rural social security systems and to move ahead with a long over-due environmental tax.

    Keith Bowman, equity analysts at Hargreaves Lansdown, thinks this is at least a great start for China. “Whilst further assessment and detail is needed, the policy moves on the surface appear to be a sizeable step in the right direction. Any actions which aid the domestic Chinese economy and therefore help re-balance the global economy should be welcomed with open arms.”

    One of the more surprising elements of the reform, include changes to China’s strict family planning policies, according to a previous report from Reuters. Up until now, parents were only allowed to have one child. They could have a second child if both parents were only children. Now, under the new reforms, only one parent has to be an only child in order to have a second child.

    Another unexpected area of reform is the abolition of China’s Labor Camp system. The system was set up in order to provide “education through labor” and also to reduce the number of crimes that were considered punishable by death.

    One of the major goals with these reforms is a shift in China’s economy. The party is hoping to transition the main feeders of their economy away from imports and investments, and toward services and consumption.

    These announcement come just hours after a major change in China’s leadership, as reported by the New York Times. The new leadership is now headed by Xi Jinping, who is the son of nationally respected revolutionary leader and reformer, Xi Zhongxun. Xi Jinping has also assumed the chairmanship of the 12-member Central Military Commission.

    Time will tell how all of these changes will affect China, as well as the rest of the world.

    Image via wikimedia commons