The Current One-Child-Per-Couple Policy for Birth Planning in China - Research Paper Example

The Impact of One Child Policy for China Society Introduction The current one-child-per-couple policy for birth planning in China is described as one of the most dramatic programs and campaigns for population control in history (Waldmeir 1). Sharp evaluation of this policy, opposition and praise have emanated from various individuals and groups. The policy has been implemented within China with significant success. This has led to a sharp drop in the growth of the Chinese population. Criticisms have been staged from the international community against this policy because it has been viewed as a direct violation of fundamental human rights (Chow, Esther and Zhao 35). This is due to the forced abortions and sterilizations in China. Moreover, the neglect and abandonment of a girl child in China has caused sharp criticisms against this policy. More significant is the fact that China’s one-child-per-couple policy has been included in the country’s legislation on demographic strategy (Chen 74). This research paper gives a critical analysis and discussion of China’s one-child-per-couple policy with a view of demonstrating its impact on the Chinese society. The background to this policy, conflicts arising out of it and the awareness of the generation on this policy and its impacts are also presented within the paper. Background of the Policy The idea of birth control was introduced in China in the 1950s by a group of various non party intellectuals. This idea is argued to be the origin of China’s one child policy. In the book, The New Population Theory, Professor Yinchu Ma in 1957 argued that the control of the population would be the solution to the problems in child and maternal health. Professor Yinchu Ma also pointed out that the regulation of population growth will reduce the mortality rates within the society. The initial years of the Chinese New Republic was characterized by leaders who revealed support for the control of population growth. This is because leaders in the government attributed the country’s rapid growth of its population as a threat to its food surplus and economic growth (Waldmeir 1). Birth control began to be popularized, especially in the densely populated parts of China. Moreover, propaganda was included in the desire for birth control and reduction of population growth rate. This is demonstrated by the campaigns in the 1960s which popularized and promoted two child family and late marriage (Li, Junjian and Junsen 1535). The birth control policy in China grew from the voluntary birth control programs which were promoted by various social campaigns. Later, the control of population became a state based affair (McLoughlin 305). This was motivated by the rapid rise in the Chinese population, especially in the 1970s, when the additional 250 million people were registered within China. The state governed birth control began as an extension of abortion and contraceptive services to China’s rural areas. This extended into glorification long intervals between child birth, smaller families and later marriages (Chow, Esther and Zhao 37). These campaigns and programs yielded fruits in 1975 when the fertility rate in the rural and urban communities fell below 4% and 1.8% respectively (Yang 320). Nonetheless, the government officials depicted that further growth of the population was inherently inevitable. This is due to the fact that about half of the Chinese society was below the age of 21 years. This was affirmed by the 1982 census which disclosed a 1 billion growth in the Chinese population (Chen 75). Officials predicted that if the trend of population growth persisted, the Chinese population would exceed 1.4 billion people in the turn of the century (McLoughlin 307). The rapid growth of the population was now seen as an apparent thereat to China’s ambitions and strategic plans for economic growth and modernization. As a result of this, in 1979, the one child policy emerged in China. This policy was announced officially in 1980 by the Communist Party Central Committee (Waldmeir 1). The policy was communicated as the State Council’s Resolution concerning the need for strict control of the growth of Chinese population and strengthening birth control among the Chinese families and societies. The control of the population, therefore, became official. Material and financial incentives were offered to families as a way of encouraging them to bear only a single child. These incentives included paid and elongated pregnancy leaves, increment of salaries and preferential access to health, housing and educational facilities and services. To discourage couples from having more than one child, those who did were not included in these incentives (Li, Junjian and Junsen 1539). Moreover, financial levies, sanctions, exclusion from job opportunities and social pressure were targeted at couples who gave birth to a second child (Yang 328). The one-child-per-couple policy in China has led to various impacts on the society as described in the following section. Impact of the one child policy on the Society The one child policy of China has led to many unintended impacts or implications on the Chinese families and society in general. The major impacts of this policy on the society include an imbalance in sex ratios in China, imbalance in the urban and rural ratio of Chinese newborns, changes in the structure of kinship and the family structure, increased speed of Chinese population aging, impact on stability and format of marriages, social norms, child socialization and societal relationships. These impacts are discussed in the following section of the research paper. China’s one child policy has received international criticisms because of the discrimination that it causes against the female newborns as opposed to male children. This is because the female newborns have been aborted, unregistered and abandoned in many instances within China since the passing of this policy (Chow, Esther and Zhao 39). Furthermore, a girl child has been a victim of disadvantaged access to education and the health systems. More significant is the impact of the one child policy on sex ratios. It is demonstrated that between 1985 and 2005, the sex ratio of boys to girls increased from 108.5 to 119 (Chen 76). In addition, it is pointed out that in 1999, some Chinese cities registered sex ratio differences between male and female children were recorded to be more than 125. This difference is caused by the male bias which exists in child birth among the Chinese families as a result of the one child policy (Li, Junjian and Junsen 1542). The imbalance in China’s sex ratios emanates from female infanticide, abandonment and sex-selected abortion (Waldmeir 1). Nonetheless, the unregistered and unreported female births have been described to be among the major causes of the imbalance in the male female sex ratio (McLoughlin 310). The one child policy in China led to easy access to ultrasound technology within the Chinese society. This made it easy for families to identify the fetus sex. This has caused the termination of the female fetus in favor of male children. Furthermore, many cases of abandonment of a female child have been reported since the passing of the one child policy in China. It is argued that the figures of female children abandonment are missing within the national level but social researchers have demonstrated more than 4.5% abandonment of female children (Chow, Esther and Zhao 35). It has also been disclosed that more than 40 million women are missing in China. This number was registered after the passing of the one child policy. In the light of these arguments, it is evident that the one child policy in China is attributed to the impact of imbalance of sex ratios within the society. The implementation of the one child policy in China has been achieved in different standards between the rural and urban populations. It is said that in the 1990s, the fertility rates among rural women was high with about 2.0 as compared to urban women whose fertility rates were about 1.2 (Yang 326). This reflects that there was zero or insignificant population growth in the urban and metropolitan states of China as compared to a higher population growth rate among the rural societies (Waldmeir 1). These differences reflect that the poor rural communities in China are disadvantaged as compared to the urban societies. This is due to the fact that there are differences in economic developments between the rural and urban populations. It is therefore evident that that the one child policy in China has led to an imbalance in the urban and rural ratio of Chinese newborns and the related social economic difficulties among the rural populations as compared to the urban society. The structures of kinship and families within the Chinese society have also been implicated significantly by the one child policy. The one child policy of China has led to the emergence of China’s nuclear families. This has occurred within a more loose kinship network (Chow, Esther and Zhao 42). These changes reflect the impact of the one child policy on the societal family patterns within China such as patrilineal, patriarchal, familistic and patrilocal values and ideas within the society (McLoughlin 309). After the implementation of the one child policy, it is reported that there is a decline of extended families within the Chinese society (Chen 75). The traditional values of the society have also been eroded since the passing of the one child policy. As a result the Chinese families are characterized by new forms of families such as divorced, single parent and cohabiting families. These forms off families are recorded to have increased from 5% to 14% between 1982 and 1994 (Li, Junjian and Junsen 1535). The impacts of the one child policy have, therefore, led to various conflicts within families and the society at large. The most significant of these conflicts is the issue of adoption (Yang 330). The one child policy regulated child adoption by defining the circumstances and whom may be adopted or would adopt a child. Because of this, the policy discourages adoption which has led to the conflict between the needs of the society and the provisions of this policy (Li, Junjian and Junsen 1554). Conflicts have also emerged in the issues of marriage within the Chinese society as a direct impact of the one child policy (Yang 332). For example, the formation or marriages and their dissolution have been impacted by the policy in a significant way. It is demonstrated that the divorce rates in China were below 5% before 1979. These rates increased to 15.3% by the late 1080s (Waldmeir 1). The social changes which resulted from the implementation of the one child policy are argued to be cause of the conflicts in the formation of marriages and their dissolution within the Chinese society. Family burdens of childrearing were reduced by the one child policy. This caused many couples to be more focused on career development as opposed to family matters. This is the cause of the family conflicts within marriages and the resultant dissolution of marriages or divorce. The one child policy has also had an impact on the living arrangements within the Chinese society and the related conflicts. The traditions and values of the Chinese favor large families (McLoughlin 313). Multi generation family units were also favored by the Chinese traditional societies. After the implementation of the one child policy, a large proportion of Chinese families are no longer in favor of living together irrespective of closeness among these families (Chow, Esther and Zhao 48). This has led to conflicts and generational awareness among young people. For example, young people are aware that they are not obliged to live with their older family members (McLoughlin 310). A survey conducted within Beijing in 1994 illustrated this by revealing that young adults who preferred to live separately from their older family members increased to 14.5% from the 4.8% in 1988 (Chen 75). In this sense, it is apparent that in addition to the conflicts that emanated from the implementation of the one child policy, there was increased generation awareness among members of the Chinese society. The increased generation awareness in the Chinese society since the implementation of the one child policy has had a significant impact on elder care. Young people are more in favor of institutional care of the elderly. This is opposed to the traditional values on the obligation of young people to take care of the elderly as a tradition merit and virtue (Chow, Esther and Zhao 55). Therefore, the one single child policy has led to changes in society where the younger generation does not consider moral obliged to care for the elderly. This has caused further conflicts in the Chinese society in relation to inheritance and the use of investments of generations. Nonetheless, it is reflected that the rural society in China has maintained the role of the family in supporting the elderly members of the society (Li, Junjian and Junsen 1547). This demonstrates that the generation awareness and societal conflicts emanating from the one child policy have had a more significant impact on the urban society as compared to the rural society. Furthermore, the socialization of the child as the only one within a nuclear family has caused conflicts associated with grand parenting as opposed to grand parenting (Waldmeir 1). More significantly, child development has been affected by the one child policy in China. For example, the social development of the child is increasingly becoming the role of schools rather than family members since the implementation of the one child policy. Conclusion In the light of the above discussion and illustrations, it is conclusive that the one-child-per-couple policy of China has had significant impact on the Chinese society. The criticism that the policy has received from the international community reveals that more negative implications have resulted from the implementation of the policy. It is, however, important that the impacts of the one child policy were unintended by the initial goal and objective of its passing. As a result of implementing this policy, imbalance in child ratios has resulted within the Chinese society. Moreover, the urban and rural ratio of newborns is not balanced. Furthermore, the family structures and kingship in the Chinese society has been changed by the policy and its implementation. Conflicts have also resulted within the society in respect to the issues of adoption, marriage and termination of marriages. Increased speed of population aging as a result of the policy has led to generation awareness on the roles of young people in taking care of the elderly are other impacts of the policy on the society. Moreover, the stability of the families in the Chinese society has been weakened by the policy. The format of families, social norms, societal relationships and processes of child socialization has also been impacted by China’s one-child-per-couple policy. Works Cited Chen, Xuefeng. "The Social Impact of China's One-Child Policy." Harvard Asia Pacific Review 2008: 74-76. Print. Chow, Esther Ngan-ling, and S. M. Zhao. "The One-Child Policy and Parent-Child Relationships: A Comparison of One-Child with Multiple-Child Families in China." The International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 16.12 (2006): 35-62. Print. Li, Hongbin, Junjian Yi, and Junsen Zhang. "Estimating the Effect of the One-Child Policy on the Sex Ratio Imbalance in China: Identification Based On the Difference-In-Differences." Demography 48.4 (2011): 1535-1557. Print. McLoughlin, Caven S. "The Coming-Of-Age of China's Single-Child Policy." Psychology in the Schools 42.3 (2008): 305-313. Print. Waldmeir, Patti. "China: One-Child Policy is a Threat to Growth." FT.com (2012): 1. Print. Yang, Mingliang, et al. "China's One-Child Policy and the Care of Children: An Analysis of Qualitative and Quantitative Data." Social Forces 79.3 (2009): 913-943. Print. Read More