Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
China's One-Child Policy
The 'one-child policy' (actually a misnomer) was railroaded into effect in 1979 in a
bid to keep China's population to one billion by the year 2000; the latest government
estimate claims the population will peak at 1.5 billion in 2033. The policy was origin-
ally harshly implemented but rural revolt led to a softer stance; nonetheless, it has
generated much bad feeling between local officials and the rural population. All non-
Han minorities are exempt from the one-child policy. Han Chinese parents who were
both single children can have a second child.
Rural families are now allowed to have two children if the first child is a girl, but
some have upwards of three or four kids. Additional children often result in fines and
families having to shoulder the cost of education themselves, without government
assistance. Official stated policy opposes forced abortion or sterilisation, but allega-
tions of coercion continue as local officials strive to meet population targets. The
government is taking steps to punish officials who force women to undergo inhu-
mane sterilisation procedures. Families who do abide by the one-child policy will of-
ten go to great lengths to make sure their child is male. In parts of China, this is cre-
ating a serious imbalance of the sexes - in 2010, 118 boys were born for every 100
girls. That could mean that by 2020, more than 35 million Chinese men may be un-
able to find a wife.
Another consequence of the policy is a rapidly ageing population, with a projected
one-third of the populace over the age of sixty by 2040.
In recent years signals have emerged that the one-child policy may be relaxed or
revised in some provinces and cities.
Women in China
Chairman Mao once said that women hold up half the sky, and when Liu Yang
became the first Chinese woman in space in 2012, his words took on a new
meaning.
Women in today's China officially share complete equality with men;
however, as with other nations that profess sexual equality, the reality is often
far different. Chinese women do not enjoy strong political representation and
the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) remains a largely patriarchal organisa-
tion. Iconic political leaders from the early days of the CCP were all men and
