CHINA

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CHINAS ONE CHILD POLICY
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WHAT IS IT?
Chinas One Child policy is a policy that the
Chinese government introduced in 1979 to try and
solve the problem of overpopulation. Its main
purpose was to make sure that China could support
its large population with facilities such as
healthcare, education, housing, good jobs and
most importantly, food. The aim was to reduce
poverty and to improve overall quality of life
for the people. The one child policy is very
hard to enforce but the presence of it has
definitely played a part in improving Chinas
overpopulation problem.
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IT MAKES SENSE!

• DISOBEY

• OBEY

1. Your second child and any others you decide to
   have will be unregistered.
2. Your second child will not receive any authorised
   education.
3. Your additional children will not receive medical
   care from the government.

1. You will get a higher standard of education for
   your child.
2. There is an increased role for both parents in
   the workplace.
3. The government will provide medical care for your
   family.

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THE FACTS
Although the one child policy seems like an
extremely harsh and controversial method of
controlling the population, it isnt as harsh as
it may seem at first. The one child policy hasnt
actually been made law yet and it depends on
which area of the country you live in as to how
much it affects you. In some areas which have a
low population anyway, the policy is very
lenient, whereas in other areas, the policy is
strictly adhered to in both rural and urban areas
because it is overpopulated. With nearly 50 of
Chinas population live in the countryside, many
are permitted to have two children because for
the majority of places, the policy only applies
to urban areas. Over the 30 years of family
planning that Chinas government has enforced,
the population growth has been reduced by 300
million, showing that the rules must be
benefiting the country. There are also other
circumstances where a couple may be entitled to
have another child if they wish. For example, if
a husband and wife are both from a one child
family, they are permitted to raise two children.
Couples are also entitled if their first child is
born handicapped or dies.
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HOW IS IT ENFORCED?
As you can imagine, enforcing a policy as strict
as this is an extremely taxing challenge. However
the Chinese government has implemented ways in
ensuring hat its population stick to the rules
they have been given. These rules include

• Penalties given to anyone found breaking the
  policy. This may be given in money, or it could
  also be paid in livestock which is precious for
  families for food.
• Benefits such as rice rations are not given to
  families with more than one child.

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Is It a FAILURE?????
Children are becoming far too spoilt! Parents are
treating their only children like royalty, and
obese, demanding boys are being seen far too
often now and they will have big problems when
they reach their teens. This policy was meant to
improve living conditions!
GOVERNMENTS OUT OF ORDER
The One Child Policy is having negative effects
on Chinas population too. There will soon be,
and already is a sign of an ageing population
which will mean the government will have to put
more money onto healthcare and pensions with
fewer youngsters around to carry out the work. By
the year 2025, the percentage of over 65s in
China could reach 30 and instead of the
traditional method of children caring for their
elders, Chinas elderly will have to be put into
social retirement care as there wont be enough
youngsters to support them.