The Necessity of the Chinese Family Planning Program

1636 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Modernization theory china

In the early 1960’s, the People’s Republic of China found itself at a challenging crossroads. Leaders recognized that the population of China had recently surpassed billion people. Several factors contributed to the recent boom in the population. Improved technology and access to medical resources allowed people to live and work longer. Previous leaders had encouraged citizens to have more children in order for the nation to prosper. Furthermore, within the Chinese culture, a large family was considered a traditional sign of happiness. However, leaders recognized the future problems stemming from the population growth rate. With the rapid population growth, China’s ability to produce food would soon be unable to sustain the population. Recent history, the famine of 1958 which killed 20 million Chinese citizens, had taught the Chinese leaders that a lack of food can soon create a desperate situation. Additionally, efforts at modernizing the country had been hindered by the lack of urban land; 70% of China still remained rural. With this in mind, China developed a radical and controversial program that sought to remedy this situation. The China Family Planning Program mandated that each family would be limited to giving birth to one child. Although the implementation of this program had grim consequences, from the purely economic and political viewpoint it was necessary to carry out this program to ensure a successful future for China.

At the simplest level, the Chinese Family Planning Program Policy stated that under no circumstances could a family give birth to more than one child. In the 1950’s and 1960’s the population was sky rocketing, to the point where leaders of the country were getting concerned. “The Baby Boom” took plac...

... middle of paper ...

...n Office of the State Council Of the People's Republic of China, Aug. 1995. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. .

"China's One-child Policy Could Backfire On Its Elderly." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. Center for International Child Health, 15 Sept. 2005. Web. 19 Jan. 2012.

.

Hesketh, Therese, Li Lu, and Zhu Wei Xing. "The Effect of China's One-Child Family Policy after 25 Years." Center for International Child Health, 15 Sept. 2005. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. .

Wei-xiong, Li. "Family Planning in China." Schweizerische Akademie Für Medizin & Ethik. National Research Institute for Family Planning. Web. 19 Jan. 2012.

.

Show More
Related

  • China's One Child Policy Dbq Essay

    576 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • China's One Child Policy

    1124 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the more extreme measures taken in an attempt to control population has been China's one-child policy. Population advocate Garet Hardin suggests the rest of the world adopt similar policies. This paper is to show a country's government acting on theories that Hardin is popular for and the ethical and environmental effects that it had on people and the land. Hardin fails to see the ethical problems laid out by governments that suppress peoples thoughts and beliefs.

    Read More

  • The One Child Policy in China

    2851 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Population Control in China

    1705 Words  | 4 Pages

    Graham, Hutchings. Modern China; A Guide to a Century of Change. Cambridge: Harvard University Press,2001

    Read More

  • One Child Policy Essay

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    By 1980, although the birthrate in China has fallen to below 3 children per family, it was believed by a new regime of Chinese leaders which included Deng Xiao Ping, that forced and restricted population growth would lead to greater economic prosperity. This coercive policy influenced the family of the Chinese citize...

    Read More

  • One Child Policy Dbq

    586 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • China's One Child Policy Essay

    2102 Words  | 5 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • The One Child Policy and Gender Inequality

    1947 Words  | 4 Pages

    Li, J., & Cooney, R, S. (1993). Son preference and one child policy in china:

    Read More

  • China: Violation of Human Rights

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    Women of China have their own opinions when it comes to their families, being under a controlled government and being told how many children they can have only makes it harder if them. Also China’s Health Ministry estimates that in the four decades since the imposition of the one-child policy more than 336 million abortions have taken place in the nation. Nora...

    Read More

  • Comparison of the American and Chinese Cultures

    1897 Words  | 4 Pages

    ICL Document, (1988) . ICL- China Constitution: Retrieved March27, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/law/ch00000_.html

    Read More

  • Overpopulation Problems in China

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order to solve the overpopulation issue, the government should pay great attention to it. Some policies, such as “ One China policy”, have already been made in China. They have already paid off. For instance, in 1994, the natural growth rate was 11.21‰, but in 1999 it was only 8.77‰ (SFPCC statics). However, China still has a long way to go in this aspect, for the overpopulation is still serious now, just like what have been mentioned in the previous paragraphs.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Population Growth in China

    1744 Words  | 4 Pages

    Thesis statement : Since the population has grown rapidly in the past fifty (5) years, how did the Chinese government deal with the population explosion in the past and how will they deal with it in the future? Though China is the world's fifth-largest country in terms of area and the second largest country in Asia, it is the most populous country in the world. There is over one billion Chinese people, which is 19 percent of the world's population, and the population still keeps growing. From 2000 to 2010, Chinese population growth was about 6.2% and if we compared the population from 1960 with 2010, the population had grown more than 100%.

    Read More

  • China's One Child Policy

    2616 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • One Child Policy Essay

    843 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the rein of Mao Tse-tung China’s population was almost at one million. Mao allowed couples to have as many children as they please because to him, “of all the things in the world people are the most precious.”(Fitzpatrick 2). As the as the population continued to grow the government became concerned and decided that population control was necessary in order to remain able to support the citizens of China. Furthermore, the government feared there would not be enough food to upkeep residents. The next leader, Deng Xioping, created the “One Child Policy” therefore preventing families from having more than one child. On September 25th 1980 the policy was instituted. Subsequently this law has prohibited children and parents the experience of having a big family.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Statistics

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rosenberg, M. (2010, 11 17). China's one child policy. Retrieved 01 31, 2011, from About.com:

    Read More

More about The Necessity of the Chinese Family Planning Program

Open Document