instituting a one-child-per-family policy. And while more than three quarters of Chinese

citizens support the idea, China is looking to revamp the program into a two-child policy.

Many have argued that population control methods create more problems than they solve, and

in China's case, are set to cripple the economy. So we wanted to know, Is China's

One Child Policy a Failure?

Well, the policy was originally instated after China's population exploded in the 20th

century. From roughly 700 million residents in the 1960s, to more than a billion in the

1980s, Chinese officials implemented the one-child plan to cut 300 million residents. In 2011,

the government claimed that the policy, and other birth control methods, have led to the

prevention of 400 million births. However, critics point out that the drop in births

is due to lower fertility rates, which are consistent with lower rates in countries without

such policies, like Thailand.

In fact, China's one-child policy isn't really true to its name. For starters, it

only affects about a third of China's population, making exceptions for ethnic minorities and

rural residents. It also often does not apply if a couple's first child is female. New

rules in 2013 also allowed parents without siblings to have up to two children.

But despite the limited enforcement, the one-child policy has led to severe imbalances in Chinese

society. Women are often pressured into having abortions if pregnant with a second child,

as the penalty ranges from a fine, to even losing your job. In 2013, China's Health

Ministry revealed that more than 300 million abortions had been performed to maintain the

one-child policy. Another major problem is that the system of fining violators means

that wealthy residents are able to have many children, while the impoverished are penalized.

Perhaps the worst side effect of the policy has been referred to as the "Missing Women"

problem. Because having male children is preferred in Chinese society,female children are sometimes

killed, aborted, or given up for adoption in an effort to "try again" for a boy.

This phenomenon was calculated in 1990 to be responsible for at least 50 million "missing

women" in China,and as well as a 100 million worldwide

The policy also creates an extremely difficult situation for parents and their children,

known as the "4-2-1 problem". Chinese society stresses that children are to take

care of their aging relatives. But with the one-child policy, a single person ends up

responsible for both parents, and all four grandparents, creating tremendous strain,

with no siblings to help. The shrunken youth demographic, comprised overwhelmingly of males,

is also poised to severely diminish the economy as larger, older generations retire. Although

the elderly only comprise about 12% of the population, by 2050 they are expected to represent

a full third.

China's one-child policy, like many government sanctioned forms of population control, has

led to severe negative effects, and even human rights abuses. So with 1.3 billion people,

representing the most populated country on earth, is it safe to say that the one-child

policy is a failure? Obviously, yes.

But besides the one-child policy, there are many aspects of Chinese culture that are massively

misunderstood. To learn about some of those misunderstandings, check out this video by

Seeker Daily. If you're interested in how other countries have tried to control their

populations, watch this video about Iran's family planning laws. Thanks for watching

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