Abstract The purpose of this research is to highlight to what extent government policy has violated the human rights of women in China. Government policy is important to the organization of countries. Government policies work to aid in political, economic, and social issues that can become detrimental to the function of a country. Flourishing government policies prove to be efficient and effective when implementation is deemed successful. The One Child Policy proved to be successful in reducing population size. As past policy rules have now been eased, family planning officials in the region have begun drafting less strict family planning protocols. Though it has proved to be a successful policy in curbing population growth, the One Child Policy targeted women of China. A review of government policy, and its affect on the female population shows a link in population policy and its discrimination towards women. Although China reduced the stipulations of its One Child Policy, the enforcement of this policy has impeded the natural human rights of women due to the imposition of restricted childbirth. Introduction Following a thirty five year policy which was geared towards improving economic and social concerns within the region, the Peoples Republic of China has begun to facilitate its family planning regulations. Prior to the establishment of China’s population policy, the population experienced massive increases and decreases of its magnitude. Consequences of civil and global wars before 1949 led to high death rates in the country. As country conflict came to an end, and new leadership, population growth was greatly encouraged by Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong. During this time, the size of Chinas population grew subs... ... middle of paper ... ...ssed May 1, 2014). • UN General Assembly, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 December 1948, 217 A (III), available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3712c.html [accessed 9 March 2014] • "What are Human Rights." What are Human Rights. http://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/pages/whatarehumanrights.aspx (accessed April 29, 2014). • World Bank. (2014). Fertility rates, total (births per woman) Data retrieved May 1, 2014, from World Databank: World Development Indicators • Yang, Dennis Tao. 2008. China's agricultural crisis and famine of 1959-1961: A survey and comparison to soviet famines. Comparative Economic Studies 50, no. 1: 1-29, http://search.proquest.com/docview/201687756?accountid=15070. • Yu, Jiangxia and Jingwei Liu. 2009. The new biopolitics. Journal of Academic Ethics 7, no. 4: 287-296, http://search.proquest.com/docview/521178676?accountid=15070.
Was China's one-Child policy a good idea? China's one child policy was introduced in 1980 with the fear of reaching the 1 billion population mark.China's one child policy was a great idea because it resolved China's population issue. The three main positive things that came from the one-child policy is population control, more respect for females and the environmental benefits.
Meng, Xin, and Nancy Qian. The Institutional Causes of China's Great Famine, 1959-61. Cambridge, Mass: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2010.
"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada, n.d. Web. 03 May 2014.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (n.d.). United Nations. Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml
Declaration of Human Rights: Dignity and Justice for All of Us. Accessed on October 29,
[11] United Nations, “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, General Assembly resolution 217 A (III), December 10, 1948.
In 1979, China decided to establish a one child policy which states that couples are only allowed to have one child, unless they meet certain exceptions[1].In order to understand what social impacts the one child policy has created in China it important to evaluate the history of this law. China’s decision to implement a Child policy has caused possible corruption, an abuse of women’s rights, has led to high rates of female feticide, has created a gender ratio problem for China, and has led to specific problems associated with both the elderly and younger generation. Finally, an assessment of why China’s one child policy is important to the United States allows for a full evaluation of the policy.
Feng Wang and Cai Yong stated that the fertility rate was already declining and the policy wasn’t necessary for the Chinese people, especially because of the enormous costs. The fertility rate, which is the number of children the average woman has in her lifetime, in China started at 2.7 in 1979 and decreased to 1.7 in 2008. The article “China’s One Child Policy at 30” argued that the policy did not need to be introduced in China because the rates were already lower than Brazil at 4.2 and Thailand at 3.6.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10, 1948. Each of the 30 articles in this declaration defines rights humans need, from basic resources and education to freedom of thought and speech. Article 2 states, “Everyone
During the first half of 50’s government did not limit the population growth but did the exact opposite and actually encourage families to have more children. This was due to the Mao Zedong’s or Chairman Mao’s believe that more population would mean more economic development, more labor and more growth, however, late 1950’s changed that and that is when China began implementing first population control measures. As population reached 600 million Mao expressed his wish for population to remain in this level. Government soon realized that in order to keep population at this level, long term population control would have to be implemented. First they began by simply distributing various forms of contraceptives among general population. As famine of 1959-1961 struck the country it set the policy aside but as soon as country began to demonstrate signs of recovery the family planning campaign resumed where it left with distribution of contraceptives. By the late 1970s, China had experienced success in decreasing fertility rates by increasing the use of birth control under the slogan "Late, Long and Few". As a result China's population growth dropped by half between 1970 and 1976. Nonetheless, it soon leveled off, making government and officials seek more drastic measures and on September 25, 1980 an open letter by the Chinese Communist Party established One-Child Policy (OCP) also called Family Planning Policy (FPP). Nevertheless the OCP name is misleading since the policy allows for exceptions. For instance rural families with first child being disabled or being girl are allowed to have another child. Also, couples where both bride and groom are single children are allowed to have two ...
Merli, M. G., & Smith, H. L. (2002). Has the Chinese Family Planning Policy been
48 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted 10 December 1948 UNGA Res 217 A(III) (UDHR), Art 1
On December 10th in 1948, the general assembly adopted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration, although not legally binding, created “a common standard of achievement of all people and all nations…to promote respect for those rights and freedoms” (Goodhart, 379). However, many cultures assert that the human rights policies outlined in the declaration undermine cultural beliefs and practices. This assertion makes the search for universal human rights very difficult to achieve. I would like to focus on articles 3, 14 and 25 to address how these articles could be modified to incorporate cultural differences, without completely undermining the search for human rights practices.
Over population has been a global issue for decades. Medical advances have made it possible for people to live longer and have multiple births, which are just some of the factors contributing to this social problem. Many countries have attempted to battle this issue, but none as intensely as China. China allows the government to have full control over family planning to help reduce the population. In 1979 China created a policy called the "One Child Law" which limits couples to only one child. Although the Chinese government hopes to curb the population boom and benefit society, the One Child Policy has morally questionable results, negative impacts on Chinese society, which should be changed.
Declaration of Human Rights: Dignity and Justice for All of Us. Accessed on October 29,