CHINAS ONE CHILD POLICY

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CHINAS ONE CHILD POLICY

• By Rachael Dean

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WHAT IS IT?

• Chinas One Child policy is a policy that the
  Chinese government introduced in 1979 to try and
  solve the problem of overpopulation. Its main
  purpose was to make sure that China could support
  its large population with facilities such as
  healthcare, education, housing, good jobs and
  most importantly, food. The aim was to reduce
  poverty and to improve overall quality of life
  for the people.
• The Policy is not formally written into Chinese
  law but it is strictly enforced with three main
  factors. These are
• Favouring delayed marriage and delayed child
  birth
• Favouring fewer and healthier births, rather than
  more unsuccessful ones
• Laying down the rule of one child per couple.
• The one child policy is very hard to enforce but
  the presence of it has definitely played a part
  in improving Chinas overpopulation problem.

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WERE YOU AWARE?
From birth up to 18, a single child can cost you
on average up to 90,000! And thats just one
child, think what two or three will do to youre
bank balance! CAN YOU REALLY AFFORD???
Think of the whining, sick, dirty nappies, mess,
visits to the doctor, lifestyle changes,
childcare and precautions you will have to
compensate for! CAN YOU REALLY COPE?
Think of all the sacrifices you will have to make
if you decide to become a parent too soon. No
more late night drinking binges, no more social
life, no more self-indulgences, no more luxurious
holidays, no more undisturbed nights. WHEN IS
THERE TIME FOR YOU?
Think of a whole future looking out for someone
else, thinking why did it work out this way, it
wasnt supposed to be this way, if only I could
go back and change things.
ARE YOU REALLY READY?
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IT MAKES SENSE!

• DISOBEY

• OBEY

• Your second child and any others you decide to
  have will be unregistered.
• Your second child will not receive any authorised
  education.
• You will not be supported with future child birth
  control

• You will get a higher standard of education for
  your child.
• There is an increased role for both parents in
  the workplace.
• You will be provided with support about other
  birth control measures.

?
?
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WHY ONLY 1?

• The benefits of having only one child are

• You have more time to concentrate on that one
  child and therefore, you will be able to show
  them much more love
• You wont be put under as much financial strain
  as you would be if you were to have more than
  one child.
• There is much less hassle to deal with! Less
  nappies, less crying, less sleepless nights, less
  baby gear to buy, less money to save etc.
• One child will not take up as much of your time
  as two or three will, so you will have more time
  to concentrate on you and focus on a career
  maybe.
• Your child is much more likely to become
  successful if you are able to spend more time
  supporting it.
• You will be able to offer your child a better
  quality of life if you are able to focus all of
  your attention on it, rather than numerous
  children.

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THE FACTS
Although the one child policy seems like an
extremely harsh and controversial method of
controlling the population, it isnt as harsh as
it may seem at first. The one child policy hasnt
actually been made law yet and it depends on
which area of the country you live in as to how
much it affects you. In some areas which have a
low population anyway, the policy is very
lenient, whereas in Sichuan, the policy is
strictly adhered to in both rural and urban areas
because it is overpopulated. As nearly 50 of
Chinas population live in the countryside, many
are permitted to have two children because for
the majority of places, the policy only applies
to urban areas. Over the 30 years of family
planning that Chinas government has enforced,
the population growth has been reduced by 300
million, showing that the rules must be
benefiting the country. There are also other
circumstances where a couple may be entitled to
have another child if they wish. For example, if
a husband and wife are both from a one child
family, they are permitted to raise two children.
Couples are also entitled of their first child is
born handicapped or dies.
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HOW IS IT ENFORCED?
As you can imagine, enforcing a policy as strict
as this is an extremely taxing challenge. However
the Chinese government has implemented ways in
ensuring hat its population stick to the rules
they have been given. These rules include

• Penalties given to anyone found breaking the
  policy. This may be given in money, up to 10
  000yuans(approx.13yuan to 1). It could also be
  paid in livestock which is precious for families
  for food.
• Benefits such as rice rations are not given to
  families with more than one child.
• In some rural areas, peasants are encouraged to
  have more than one child to increase the amounts
  received from punishment fines. This money is
  then used to benefit the community and improve
  living conditions.

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ITS A FAILURE!
Children are becoming far too spoilt! Parents are
treating their only children like royalty, and
obese, demanding boys are being seen far too
often now and they will have big problems when
they reach their teens. I thought this policy was
meant to improve living conditions!
GOVERNMENTS OUT OF ORDER
The One Child Policy is having negative effects
on Chinas population too. There will soon be,
and already is a sign of an ageing population
which will mean the government will have to put
more money onto healthcare and pensions with
fewer youngsters around to carry out the work. By
the year 2025, the percentage of over 65s in
China could reach 30 and instead of the
traditional method of children caring for their
elders, Chinas elderly will have to be put into
social retirement care as there wont be enough
youngsters to support them.
FORGET BABY BOOMWHAT ABOUT THIS BACHALOR BOOM
This ridiculous attempt of a policy is seriously
affecting Chinas sex ratio. Since the 1980s, our
ratio has become completely disfigured and the
male to female ratio is now 116100. So much for
killing of baby girls and an increase in abortion
rates. China could have completely devastated
its future as there will soon be a shortage in
the number of young fertile women and then there
will be even fewer births. China is forcing young
men to remain single, there to be an increase in
prostitution and the status of women may well go
down in an already overpowering male society.
What a disaster!
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EVALUATION
Overall, Chinas One Child policy has ultimately
done what it set out to do. However, it cannot be
hailed a success as there have also been some
serious consequences including a rise in
prostitution, a lack of fertile women within the
middle age group, a rise in the number of
unregistered children and a host of other
problems. China was getting to a point where it
was going to become drastically overpopulated and
the government was right to try and implement a
system which would reduce numbers. However, it
went too far in trying to implement this rule and
there are many people who think that the whole
system has been a fiasco. There is a vast
shortage in females compared to males and this
has made China and even more male dominated
country than it already was. China may have began
to control its population, but has it really
solved the problem of bring the country up to
date and created a better standard of living for
its people?
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THE END!!!