What & When
What: The national population and family commission in china decided to make law about strict population control. Families in urban districts should only have one child.
In order to enforce the one child policy, the government has imposed a variety of rewards and penalties to put pressure onto the people.
Rewards include:
- Higher wages
-Interest- free loans
- Retirement funds
-priority housing and school enrollment
The penalties are:
- Fine from $370 to $12,800
- Pressures to abort pregnancy
- confiscated belongings
- getting fired from work
The law is enforced by local authorities, so it can vary how it is applied. In certain areas the officials might be stricter.
When: This happened in 1979. It was put into practice by Deng Xiaoping, Mao successor when he realized that China was overcrowding and the economy was stagnant. Chinas population was a quarter of the whole world’s population. Before this between 1949 to 1976 Chairman Mao was in favour of having a fast growing population. He thought this would increase the productivity of the country, to have more work forces.
Where & Why
Where: China is located in the East Asian continent, bordering Russia, Mongolia, North Korea, Pakistan, India, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Nepal.
Why: Chinas population was growing too fast. It was already ¼ or the world’s population in 1979. This meant that there were not enough jobs for everybody, not enough food, education facilities, health care, etc.
How?
People were seduced by propaganda posters that influence people’s ideas about Chinas One Child Policy and made them think it’s best for everybody and their lifestyle. It is trying to persuade them that their life will be rewarded by higher standard of life and that their child will have a better future. (poster) People will get rewards like higher wages, retirement funds, priority in school enrollment and accommodation and interest free loans. However there are also penalties for having more than one child such high fines (up to 12 800$), enforced abortions, confiscated belonging and getting fired from work. There are exceptions to the strict law: families in rural area, ethnic minorities, disabled children, parents who work in high risk occupations.
Advantages of the OCP
-Chinas economy will stabiles and grow
- There will be enough resources for everybody
- The country will be less polluted and less overpopulated
- Families will get rewards and therefore less poverty and a better lifestyle
- less famine
Disadvantages of the OCP
- A lot of baby girls are killed or abandoned, so that the orphanages are overflowing
-females are considered as less respected
- Forced abortion make woman suffer
- Too many boys and fewer girls,
-Risk of increase of homosexuality and a lack of woman to marry.
-single children will be spoiled & egocentric, and they have to carry a lot of weight and expectations from the family and grandparents
- ageing population increase, as there are not enough young people to support the old ones
-more health care for the ageing population will be required
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