Child Han China's One Child

¶ … Child Han China's One Child Policy The population of China has been exploding in the last several decades, with reports of more than 549 million people in the early 20th century alone (Smith, 1991). The population reached and exceeded 1 billion in the 1980s, more than one-fifth of the world's total population (Smith, 1991:116). China's tremendous population growth has resulted in many problems. One major concern is that there is not enough land to support the number of people living in the country.

The population growth has continued despite a lack of increases in the amount of "cultivatable land" thus there is only half as much land per capita for example in 1979 as there was in 1949, and the number has continued to decline through the nineties (Smith, 1991). The government of China has consistently worked to develop viable policies to combat the overpopulation problems. The rising population has been blamed for everything from a lack of development to realization of true financial power among the world elite.

The majority of plans developed to combat overpopulation have been geared toward family planning. Because of the tremendous growth, the Chinese government needed to make policies to combat the quick growing numbers of Chinese citizens. In the early 1979, the Family Planning Commission of China implemented the "one-child policy" as a solution for overpopulation. However, the "one-child policy" is only applied to Han and the minorities are not restricted by this policy.

Thus the Han Chinese are unfairly discriminated against, and the gender balance among this group of the population is decreasing in recent years. By definition the policy states that married couples in urban settings are limited to having only one child; married couples in rural areas are allowed to have two children if the first child is a girl. This is strictly enforced in the major cities, but rural governments tend to be more relaxed since extra labor is needed in farming communities.

Nonetheless, fines are imposed on parents who want more than one child. With a population billion, the Chinese view this as a practical policy. The one child policy was implemented because the government believed it was the only viable policy to reduce the number of birthrates and keep the population at a relative constant (approximately 1 billion). However, since adoption of the policy many problems have come to light.

Among the problems with instituting this policy is the fact that having a large family for many Han Chinese is the cultural norm (Smith, 1991). Because the policy is structured to target only one population (the Han Chinese) there is also the possibility that the population can become "grotesquely unbalanced" and that "each able bodied person would have to support two parents and four grandparents" (Smith, 1991:119).

The government believes however that this policy or some version of it is still a viable option for controlling the outrageous population explosion occurring in China. Some of the advantages, disadvantages and avenues for future change are explored in greater detail below. Advantages The primary advantage of the one child policy as described by government officials working to support it is that it has resulted in a decline in fertility rates among the Han Chinese. This naturally results in a lower birthrate, which the policy was originally created to do.

The policy has in fact, seen some promising results. From a statistical perspective the policy has been moderately successful. As Smith (1991) points out during the 1960s the net growth of China's population was more than 20 per 1,000 (birthrate compared with death rate) and stood even higher in 1971; however the number has halved and in 1985 was reported at 5 per 1,000 (p. 121). The fertility rate in China has also decreased relatively steadily, with the highest decline occurring within cities (Smith, 1991).

In 1970 statistics indicated that the birth rate for first births was 20% and for third births the rate was 62%, indicating a large majority of families having a minimum of three children (Smith, 1991). However by the mid 1980s this policy had already changed, with 56% of births reported as first births and only 19% reported as third births (Smith, 1991). On paper, the policy is achieving its goals, which were among others to reduce the fertility and birthrates in China.

The policy has also resulted in a more widespread adoption of the notion or cultural ideal that it is acceptable to have a smaller family of only one child, or in some instances two children. The policy has also enforced the notion that it is important for government and citizens to work together to develop solutions to the massive explosion and overgrowth in the population realized in recent years.

For a reduction in the population to occur, it is essential that some sort of collaboration be established between government officials and the public, if a true reduction in the population is to be realized. Disadvantages Despite these seemingly promising statistics the net growth rate in China is not declining significantly. In fact, the net growth rate of China continues to increase despite the governments best efforts.

Part of the reason is a reduction in death rates, often attributed to public health measures and the benefit of modern technological advances which now allows life extension for a majority of people that might otherwise have died from chronic or acute illnesses (Smith, 1991). An overall rise in the standard of living in rural areas has also been attributed to the reduced death rate and increased life span (Smith, 1991). Other factors include improved sanitation and mass immunization campaigns (Smith, 1991).

The one child policy and population control policies in general have many disadvantages. First and foremost among these is the possibility for increased infant mortality and abandonment. Population policies have been linked to infant abandonment in China, in reports of government officials examining taxation on welfare centers which generally increases when any "crackdowns" occur in birth planning policies (Banghan et. al, 1998; Hunan, 1992). Most parents in China that have admitted to abandoning their children have done so because of population control policies including the one child policy.

Female children are more often abandoned than male children because when a family is only able to have one child, many prefer a male. It is possible in the course of a woman's lifetime that she will abandon many female children in order to attempt to give birth to a son. Many of these children will not be accounted for if they aren't placed in welfare agencies. The long-term emotional and mental consequences for the women doing so have not been adequately studied.

The number of abandoned children actually reported by the government, which averages approximately 20,000 at a time (Lu, 1994) is expected to be much less than the actual number of abandoned children that go unreported every year (Banghan, 1998). Some estimates suggest that only 20% of all children that are abandoned are actually accounted for by the county's welfare system (Banghan, 1998). Research also suggests that the children that are abandoned at welfare centers are much more likely to experience infant mortality in the first few months of life than other children (Banghan, 1998).

Adoption policies within China have also proven restrictive, preventing willing parents from adopting children in many cases unless they are childless and then they are limited to having one child unless they want to pay heavy fines. The only exception to the rule is for children that are disabled. Many of the children that are successfully adopted often suffer from major health problems (Banghan, 1998) suggesting that they are not cared for well in the adoption centers, possibly due to overburdening of staff.

Government in China is considered the biggest obstacle to finding homes for abandoned children (Banghan et. al, 1998). There is hope however that the government will lift restrictions on adoption. One possible solution is relaxing the restriction on the one child policy. Banghan et. al (1998) suggests that the government relax policies and allow couples who bear a daughter first to continue to try for a son (p. 469). Many couples living in child believe that a small family of two children is a reasonable allowance.

However this does not eliminate the fact that many children will be abandoned if the birthmother ends up having two daughters or three daughters before they have a son, if they have a son. Johnson (1994) suggests that institutional and economic changes are necessary that will alleviate the need for sons to be born as a source of social security, and this might relieve the burden placed on many women to have sons.

Generally one child policies and other "high pressure" birth planning policies are thought to fail because they do not actually lower the number of children being born, but rather simply contribute to the number of infants being abandoned (Johnson, 1994; Banghan et. al, 1998). The number of people in the population might simply be counted as less because many of the abandoned children never make it to welfare agencies where they will be counted in population counts.

Ethnographic/Social Considerations Hall (1987) examined the effects of the one child policy from a cultural/anthropological and ethnographic perspective. Her study revealed that such policies unwittingly result in a cultural change in attitudes, beliefs and even behaviors exhibited by children. For example, couples may lean toward the decision that having more than one child "cramps their economic style" and that may lead to the one child being spoiled and the 'babyhood' period being drawn out (Hall, 1987).

The author suggests that a country full of only children will result in children who grow into adults that will be self-centered and less likely to be concerned with the welfare of the country as a whole, and more likely to be concerned with their own personal satisfaction. This goes against the Chinese ideology that it is important to serve the country rather than oneself, and Hall suggests that "a citizenry made up of only children could spell trouble" (Hall, 1987:44).

There has been some push by the Chinese government and the Ministry of Civil Affairs in recent years to provide more funding for orphanages so they can provide better care and provisions for the children living in them (Banghan et. al, 1998). Also underway is a test program in six counties where a voluntary birth planning policy is being put in place, where birth planning is encouraged without strict adherence to quotas or fines and punishments for families that choose not to participate in the program (Sly, 1998; Banghan et. al, 1998).

These policies might lessen the changes for abandonment. Revision of the adoption law will also help. Greenhalgh (2003) suggests that the one-child policy is about "the nation's dreams for achieving wealth, modernity, and global power through selective absorption of Western science and technology" (163). The author suggests that modern science and technology are responsible for highlighting the connection between population and prosperity, and suggests that philosophers and scientists have come to conclude that human welfare, order and utility is enhanced when population controls are in place.

Population in China has been characterized by government officials as a 'national crisis' suggesting that a drastic solution be required for the well being of the Chinese people as a whole and the economic and global ascent of the nation (Greenhalgh, 2003). Li (2002) presents evidence from the China Health and Nutrition Survey as well as other resources to provide ethnographic information regarding the recent effects of the one child policy among the Han Chinese.

China has changed substantially from a demographic perspective from a country that was highly fertile to one that is considered a "nearly below replacement level of fertility" (Li, 2002). Social Consequences Gradually as the net population in China failed to decline during the 1980s the policy became stricter and second births were forbidden in most cases; enforcement of the policy also became very strict and mandatory IUD insertions, abortions and sterilization became the norm rather than the exception to the rule (Li, 2002).

However, coercive measures to enforce the policy were withdrawn in 1984; restrictions were also lifted and in some rural provinces couples were allowed to have a second child if the first child was a girl (Li, 2002). During the late 1980s the policy became even more lax when the State Family Planning Commission declared that national policy would allow a second child be born in all "single daughter households" in rural areas (Li, 2002). My early 1990 three variations of this policy applied to the Han Chinese (Li, 2002).

Economic incentives were applied along with the one child policy. Commonly used incentives including food rations, subsidies and housing/education assistance for many urban families, and more land for rural families (Li, 2002). Initial problems with the policy included a lack of uniformity. In some areas the policy was more strictly administered that in others. Generally the policy is not as well enforced in rural areas because families growing up on farms generally need the extra help afforded by having more than one child.

However in urban cities the policy is typically strictly enforced. Studies suggest that the sex ratio of newborn children is climbing and has been climbing since the mid 1980s, with more boys being born than men (Li, 2002). Such imbalanced gender representation can have "negative social implications" including men not being able to find female partners (Li, 2002).

There is some evidence to suggest that women are forced into prostitution or kidnapped and sold as wives for men living in remote areas where the ratio of men to women is high (Li, 2002; PRB, 2001). There are many that speculate that a one child policy raises the pressure to create a culture that is based on sex ratios. Benefits vs. Problems Do the benefits of the policy outweigh the problems? Statistically they do not. The fertility rate has declined among Han Chinese women in China.

In fact the fertility rate is the lowest among all developed nations. This has not however significantly impeded the net population growth. Rather the population in China continues to rise. In addition the Han population is becoming imbalanced, in part because the culture is one that supports the notion that a male is more valuable than a female member of the family.

This is due in part to the fact that many consider a male member of the family critical for the social security and economic well being of the family over time. Cultural and social reform will be necessary for change to be realized. In addition the ratio of males to females is rising in the country, causing problems including increased prostitution and evidence that women are being 'sold' as wives (Li, 2002).

The policy has created more pressure on females to produce male children, and has resulted in widespread abandonment of female children as well as female infanticide. This trend is unlikely to change unless the cultural norms of society change in a manner that encourages the birth of females as equal in value to male children. Government and Han Chinese How will the government and Han Chinese solve the problems that currently exist within the country? Various methods have been attempted and discarded in the past.

Among these include forced coercion on the part of the Chinese government which resulted in forced IUD's and other measures to prevent parents from having more than one child. One of the primary problems identified with the policy is that it varies from province to province. There are many 'exceptions' to the rule that exist depending on where a couple lives. In some areas it is acceptable to try for a second child if the firstborn is a girl.

In other areas it is only acceptable to try for a second child if the firstborn is disabled. Rural dwellers seem to have more exceptions to the rule than people living in urban areas, and it is more common to see families with two or three children in rural and agricultural areas than in cities. Attempts by the government to provide financial incentives to couples adhering to the policy have also failed by and large.

Though some couples have taken advantage of them, a larger majority have paid fines for not adhering to the policy and having more than one child despite legislation encouraging one child. Part of the problem is the net population growth rate in China is on the rise. This is due largely to the increased life expectancy in China due to better quality of living standards and health care available for citizens.

Despite China's best efforts, it statistics show that though fertility rates on decreasing, the net population is still increasing, and has.