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1、YouYuDr.SanneUngerDBRGE200N2December,2013MyviewoftheOne-childPolicyofChinaWiththelargestpopulation,Chinawaseverconfrontedwiththehardtimeofsoaringnumberofpopulations.“Intheendof2008,thenumberofChinesepopulationreachedover1.3billion,takingup20percentoftheworld,atthesametime33percentofAsia”(Zai467).The

2、refore,thegovernmentimplementedthepolicycalled“onechildpolicy”tocontroltheimpetusofsuchafleetincreasingpopulation.Asachildfromaone-childfamilymyself,Ipaidspecialattentiontotheinfluenceandchangeofthispolicy.Forcontrollingthegrowingpopulation,thispolicywaswellputintopracticeandithasachievedthestriking

3、outcome,however,someunavoidabledrawbackswereleftespeciallysomesocialproblems.InthisarticleIwouldliketointroduceboththepositiveandnegativeaspectsofChinasOne-childPolicy.TheonechildpolicyforbidsmostChinesewomenfromproducingmorethanonesurvivingbaby.(Littlejohn,para.1).Sometimes,thegovernmentofficialsre

4、sorttoviolencetoenforcethelaw.(Chen,para3).Thefinesleviedoncoupleswhoviolatethepolicycouldbe10timesashighasanannualsalaryinChina.(Goodenough,para.8).Atfirst,MaoZedongencouragedlargefamiliesandoutlawedabortionandtheuseofcontraception,urgingwomentoproduceoffspringwhowouldboosttheworkforceandtheranksof

5、thePeoplesLiberationArmy.（Ma,para.1）In1979,theChinesegovernmentembarkedonanambitiousprogramofmarketreformfollowingtheeconomicstagnationoftheCulturalRevolution.Atthetime,Chinawashometoaquarteroftheworldspeople,whowereoccupyingjust7%ofworldsarableland.Twothirdsofthepopulationwereundertheageof30years,a

6、ndthebabyboomersofthe1950sand1960swereenteringtheirreproductiveyears(Hesketh,LiandZhu,para.3)Thegovernmentsawstrictpopulationcontainmentasessentialtoeconomicreformandtoanimprovementinlivingstandards.Sotheone-childfamilypolicywasintroduced.(Hesketh,LiandZhu,para.2)One-childpolicydidbenefitthewholesoc

7、ietywhenitwasputintoeffect.Chineseauthoritiesclaimthatthepolicyhasprevented250to300millionbirths.Thetotalfertilityrate,whichisdefinedasthemeannumberofchildrenbornperwoman,decreasedfrom2.9in1979to1.7in2004,witharateof1.3inurbanareasandjustunder2.0inruralareas.(Hesketh,LiandZhu,para.6)Thischangehasbro

8、ughtChinaalargenumberofworkingpopulationandsmallernumberofchildrenwhichgavethesocietylessburdenontheresource,andithelpedChinatorankitsdevelopment2ndintheworld.Asacoinhastwosides,thispolicyalsoresultedinmanyproblemswhichdrewsharpcritiquesfromabroad,especiallyfromthewesternworld.However,A“minimumneede

9、d”ofonesonanddaughterimpliesacohorttotalfertilityrate(TER)of2.5,evenifnocouplehasnomorethanthreechildren.(MerliandSmith,para.2)Theeffectivenessoftheone-childpolicyhasvariedgreatlybecausepolicyregulationsaredifferentiallycarriedoutbyofficialsofprovinces,municipalities,counties,communes,andminorityreg

10、ions.Thestatepolicyhashadgreateracceptanceinurbanareasbutisfarlessrigidlyenforcedbylocalofficialsinruralareasandforcertainnationalminorities,whichcanhaveasecondchildifthefirstisfemale.(ChowandZhao,para.1)ThishasgreatlyinfluencedthequalityofChinaspopulation,forthewell-educatedcoupleswithgoodfinancial

11、conditioninurbanareasarerestrictedtohaveonlyonechild,butpoorcouplesfromruralareasareabletohavemorechildrenfromthepolicyspointofview.Thisleadtoahigherproportionofunder-educatedpopulationandenlargedtherich-poorgapinChina.Theeffectofthepolicyonthesexratiohasreceivedmuchattention.Accordingtothetradition

12、almindsofChinesesociety,boysaremorevaluablethangirlsforboysaredeemedbeabletocontinuethebloodoffamilies.Thesexratioatbirth,definedastheproportionofmalelivebirthstofemalelivebirths,rangesfrom1.03to1.07inindustrializedcountries.Sincetheonsetoftheone-childpolicy,therehasbeenasteadyincreaseinthereporteds

13、exratio,from1.06in1979,to1.11in1988,to1.17in2001.Therearemarkedandwell-documentedlocaldifferences,withratiosofupto1.3inruralAnhui,Guangdong,andQinghaiprovinces.Datafromthe2001NationalFamilyPlanningandReproductiveHealthSurvey,whichwascarriedoutamonganationallyrepresentativesampleof39,600womenofreprod

14、uctiveageandisthemostrecentlarge-scalesurveyofreproductivehealthandfertility,showclearlythattheincreasedsexratioisnotconfinedpredominantlytoruralChina,ashasbeenpreviouslyassumed.Thereisamarkedgradientacrossbirthorder:inruralareas,thesexratioforthefirstbirthis1.05(withinnormallimits),butitrisessteeplywithbirthorder.Inurbanareas,thesexratiois1.13forthefirstbirthandpeaksat1.30forthesecondbirthbutdecreasesforthethirdand