Article 1: https://www.npr.org/2021/06/21/1008656293/the-legacy-of-the-lasting-effects-of-chinas-1-child-policy
In the article “China’s Former 1-Child Policy Continues To Haunt Families” by Emily Feng she talks about China’s former one-child policy, enforced from the late 1970s to 2016, with its continuation to have a deep emotional and social impact on families today. The policy was created to slow population growth and reduce strain on China’s economy and public services. However, the way it was carried out, especially in places like Linyi in Shandong province, often involved harsh and violent tactics, including forced abortions, sterilizations, and heavy fines.
She then tells us a story of how one mother was hiding while pregnant with her third child to avoid being caught by family planning officials. Her husband was even jailed for defending her from them. She had already undergone several abortions and feared her body wouldn’t survive another. Many others in her region faced similar risks. In some cases, officials would harm relatives or force people to stand in freezing water to pressure women into ending their pregnancies. These were put into measure to enforce the policy and make an example out of the people that dare to break it.
Blind lawyer Chen Guangcheng became a key figure by collecting testimonies of abuse and launching a lawsuit against local authorities. Although the case led to some apologies and less violence, Chen was later imprisoned and placed under house arrest before escaping to the U.S. His actions are now seen as heroic by many who defied the policy.
However, the long-term consequences of the one-child policy are still unfolding. There are millions more men than women in China because many families preferred sons, leading to gender imbalance, abandoned baby girls, and rising marriage costs. There’s a big financial problem raising children especially sons and people these days are unwilling to have more children even though the policy is removed.
The article ends by pointing out the irony, which is that after decades of strict limits, the Chinese government is now urging families to have more children to fix its aging population and shrinking workforce. (This is also ironic because finding a decent job in China right now is harder than ever due to its population and large competitive job market.) However, many families feel too tired, traumatized, or financially strained to do so. As one mother says, “There is no point in controlling them,” highlighting how the policy’s damage can’t easily be undone.
Article 2: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-end-of-chinas-one-child-policy/
In the article “The End of China’s One-Child Policy” by Feng Wang, Baochang Gu, and Yong Cai, the authors explain how and why China officially ended its one-child policy after 35 years. The policy, originally introduced in 1980 to limit population growth, came to an end in 2016 when China began allowing all couples to have two children. This change happened in three stages, starting with a partial stop in 2013 and ending with full stop in 2016. The authors argue that the policy “came at least a decade later than it should have,” and they emphasize that the original decision to enforce the one-child rule was driven more by political goals than by good demographic science. This is huge news because the authors point out that China’s fertility rate was already dropping before 1980 and that the country’s true economic progress came from market reforms, not population control.
A major theme in the article is how harmful the policy was and it basically promoted people breaking the law using many different ways. The authors write that “China’s one-child policy will be remembered as one of the costliest lessons of misguided public policymaking.” They note that millions of forced abortions, sterilizations, and IUD insertions were carried out, with most in the 1980s. In 1983 alone, 14.4 million abortions and over 20 million sterilizations took place. The policy also led to a serious gender imbalance, with 20 to 40 million more men than women in China today.
Although the policy ended, the authors are not optimistic that birth rates will rise. They explain that in recent years, low fertility has more to do with people’s choices and economic concerns than government rules. They write, “Very low fertility in China is more the result of choice than of policy restrictions.” The article ends by calling the government out for more high-quality family planning services and more support for reproductive health.
Article 3: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/instance/2126838/pdf/9193296.pdf
In the article “The One Child Family Policy: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” byTherese Hesketh and Wei Xing Zhu, they explore the reasons behind China’s one-child policy, how it worked, and its major effects, both good and bad. The policy started in 1979 after China had already reduced its birth rate in the 1970s through a campaign called “late, long, few.” But leaders, especially Deng Xiaoping, felt that even more population control was needed to support economic reforms. The authors explain, “The boldness of the policy is all the more remarkable” given China’s traditions like valuing large families and boys.
The policy was stricter in cities than in rural areas because it was easier to enforce. In urban areas, couples who followed the rules could get rewards like better housing, longer maternity leave, and more help for their child’s education. In the countryside, people were often allowed to have a second child if their first was a girl. The authors note that while many see the policy as harsh, some city residents accepted it “with equanimity” because of the challenges of urban life, like high costs and crowded living conditions. Hesketh and Zhu say the policy did have some benefits. It helped slow down population growth and improved health and education for many children, especially girls. Mothers also gained more freedom to work and pursue education.
However, the negative sides are serious. The policy led to “an excess of boys,” partly because of sex-selective abortions and underreporting of female births. This is just due to many families preferring boys instead of girls as a child. It also caused concerns about caring for elderly parents in the future, since most families had only one child. The authors also address the most disturbing parts of the policy in which they call “the ugly.” These include forced abortions, female infanticide, and the abandonment of baby girls. While these acts have become less common due to stricter laws and changing attitudes, they were very real consequences during the early years of the policy.
Hesketh and Zhu suggest that China will need to move toward a “small family culture” that doesn’t rely on strict rules but instead encourages fewer children through better living conditions and support systems. This way families aren’t encouraged to have more children just so they have a better chance of one of their children to succeed. They say that while the policy “was never intended to be a long-term measure,” it has left a deep mark on Chinese society and may soon be replaced with something more flexible and widely accepted.