China's One Child Policy

People's republic of China under Mao was declared. Population stood at 550 million when the Communist government, under the leadership of Mao Zedong, took power in 1949. There was little agricultural or industrial development. Life expectancy was 32.

1949

People were encouraged to have large families. The 'Great Leap Forward' as China concentrated on industrial development. This led to a famine between 1959 and 1961 that claimed the lives of more than 30 million Chinese. In the ensuing decade attempts to introduce family planning made little headway during the turmoil of the cultural revolution.

1950s

Unsuccessful attempts to control the population Increase of 55 million in 3 years

1960s

The 'One Child is Good' policy was started. Couples with only one child received benefits like free education, priority housing, pensions, family benefits etc. Following Mao's death in 1976, Xiaoping emerged from a power struggle as chinas new leader. He initiated a raft of economc reforms, which opened up the country to private enterprise and international trade. This was parralleled by the introduction of the one child policy on 1st jan 1979. - couples offered cash bonuses, better housing and free medical care if they promised to have a single child. The child would also benefit from improved welfare and greater educational opportunities.

1979

Problems emerged with the policy: - in rural areas people wanted larger families to help on the farms - rural peasants represented 3/4 of the population. - A generation of spoiled only children was emerging - Too few young people to look after elderly parents - female infanticide; forced abortions

1980s

Authorities were forced to admit the 1CP had failed to slow down growth sufficiently and chinas population would overshoot the planned total of 1.2 billion in 2000. - prosperous families were prepared to pay substantial fines for larger families. Others avoided registration of additional children's births. - easing of severe restrictive policies - rural couples allowed to have 2 children, if over a 3 year period - reduction of application of targets

1990s

New Population Law - more emphasis on informed choice and penalties Review of necessity of policy and social demographic effect Aim of Government State Family Planning Commission is to continue to control population growth in the future

2002

China add an exemption, allowing 2 children for families in which 1 parent, rather than both, is an only child

2013

- For more than 35 years the Chinese Communist Party has governed the world's most-populous nation by means of a thinly disguised threat: the country could become rich only if most couples limited themselves to having no more than one child. If they disobeyed, women were forced to undergo abortions; parents were subject to fines equivalent to several years' income and sometimes dismissed from their jobs - 2015 the party decided to switch to a 2 child policy, to help slow the country's rapid ageing. More children would eventually mean more people to look after the elderly - a looming problem in a country with only a rudimentary welfare system.

2015

1CP scrapped, allowing all couples to have two children for the first time in more than three decades.

2015

1970s saw the first effective birth control campaigns, with the aim of limiting couples to no more than two children: later, longer, fewer. Later marriages, fewer children, longer spacing between them.

Early 70s

400 million

How many births is the 1CP said to have prevented

- 226 million abortions and 196 million sterilisations performed under the 1CP many of which were carried out against the will of the women concerned.

Human rights abuses

Punitive fines, the equivalent of several years' wages and known as 'social compensation fees', are imposed on parents who have a second child without permission. Other punishments can include blocked promotions at work, a 20% pay cut, loss of benefits and eviction from a subsidised apartment. Penalties vary from place to place and are enforced inconsistently, while corrupt officials may use fines to line their own pockets. The system is not helped by publicity surrounding celebrities who use their wealth to buy the right to have large families.

Fines, penalties and corruption

In the early 1990s, as the first single children were becoming teenagers, Chinese media began to highlight the problem of parents who spoil their only child, causing problems of obesity, selfishness and bad behaviour.

'Little emperors'

With a growing life expectancy and fertility below replacement level, China is facing problems in supporting the elderly. China is 'getting older before getting richer'. In 2012 15% of the population was over 60. There is a strong tradition of caring for the elderly, but this has been eroded by migration of young adults to the city.

Ageing population

As well as providing much of the manufacturing workforce, migrants are now employed in construction, domestic service, cleaning, security and transport. There is now a 'floating population' of 200 million migrants in Chinese cities, whom urban residents view with suspicion. Rural migrants make up one third of Beijing's population of 19 million, largely living in migrant-inhabited areas like Haiding, and Daxing.

Rural Urban Migration

It was predicted that by 2020 there were be 24 million men of marriageable age without partners, and this could have doubled by 2030. There is a large pressure on young people to marry, but the gender gap is making it increasingly hard for the surplus males to find a wife.

Social Issues

The second generation of single children not only have no siblings, they also have no aunts, uncles or cousins. By 2030 married couples could find themselves responsible for as many as 12 elderly people.

Support for the elderly

- China's pop: 550 million in 1949 - By 1990 it had doubled to 1.13 billion but the intervening years had seen dramatic changes in the country's fertility and life expectancy - 1979 saw the introduction of the 1CP. Punitive fines are imposed on parents who have a second child without permission. The policy led to an upsurge of female infanticide, and currently in China there are 118 boys born for every 100 girls (norm 105:100) - With lengthening life expectancy and fertility well below replacement level, china is facing serious problems in supporting the growing ranks of the elderly - In 2011 half the country's population of 1.34 billion was classified as urban. 30 years previously it had been approximately 1/5th.

Synopsis of 1CP

The duration of the 'one-child' policy has coincided exactly with China's economic rise to its current pre-eminence as the world's leading trading nation. A key factor in its manufacturing success has been the abundance of cheap, productive labour provided by an expanding working age population. This began to shrink in 2012 and will continue to decline as the size of the workforce becomes more reliant on the 'one child' generation.

The 'demographic crunch'

118 boys born for ever 100 girls compared with a standard biological ratio of 105:100. In some areas the gender imbalance can rise as high as 150:100. This reflects the traditional preference for male children. When ultrasound screening was introduced in 1980s it became possible to determine gender in the womb, giving rise to sex-selective abortions if couples wanted to avoid having a girl.

The gender gap

Officials reckon there are about 13m Chinese who lack the certificates. They have no state benefits and, as adults, cannot legally get married or have children themselves.

Unregistered children

In 2011 half of the countries population of 1.34 billion was classified as urban. 30 years before it was about 1/5. The most recent Five Year Plan, adopted in 2011, promoted further urbanisation as it aimed to raise living standards and give priority to developments in the western interior. As China shifts its economic focus from export led growth to boosting domestic demand, cities become crucial since urban dwellers consume far more than rural population. Urban sprawl

Urbanisation