The Importance Of The One-Child Policy In China

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In 1953, Chinese leaders began to recognize the country 's increasing population as a problem. The next twenty-four years were filled with propositions to resolve the issue including the banning of imported contraceptives as well as the condemning of birth control. In 1979 the one child policy officially came into effect throughout China. This policy limits the number of children couples can have to one and in some cases two. Since its instatement, the policy has prevented more than 250 million births (Fitzpatrick). The Chinese government 's attempts to slow a rapidly expanding population through the instatement of the one-child policy limited the freedoms of the people and placed additional burdens on the average citizen that one would never …show more content…
In regards to the average age of a citizen: "Projections from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs predicted that the number of Chinese citizens over the age of 65 will soar to 219 million in 2030 and grow to make up a quarter of China 's entire population by 2050" (Clarke). As the average age of the Chinese citizen increases, China will begin to see a shrinkage of the labor force. Additionally, healthcare costs will increase to parallel the increase in the average age of a citizen. The disruption of the male to female ratio is described by saying: "there is an extreme difference in the ratio of males to females within Chinese society, which has stemmed from male preference practices such as female-selective abortion, female infanticide, and females placed in orphanages (which can possibly be adopted from outside the country)" (Sudbeck). The unequal gender ratio resulting from the use of the one-child policy is incredibly unnatural and detrimental to society. As a result, many Chinese men will have to go without Chinese wives or girlfriends simply because of the distorted ratio. Both these results negatively impact society and as time goes on will only continue to cause more problems for the population of …show more content…
These articles are corrected saying: "headlines in the U.S. this year have said that China is 'relaxing ' it 's birth-control laws. The reports emerged due to possible pilot programs to allow two children per family in cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, where births have fallen too dramatically. But the government denies that regulations are being eased nationwide, and the hostage [situation] confirms that" (Haworth). Despite the supposed change in policy from one child to two children, the original policy is still practiced throughout most of China. The severity of the policy as seen through the fees and government hostages proves to stand strong and remain unwavering. Though slight changes have occurred to the policy, it still remains fully operational as a whole and shows few signs of termination in the near

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