Until the early s, most Chinese women had at least five children. The Chinese government claimed that the one-child limit prevented million births in China, although this calculation has been disputed as an exaggeration.
To enforce the unpopular one-child policy, the Chinese authorities designed strict measures , including mandatory contraception and, if all else failed, forced abortion. Those who violated the policy paid a financial penalty, and children from unauthorized births often could not be registered for citizenship status and benefits. Several bereaved mothers told me that they had gotten pregnant with a second or third child in the s or s but had an abortion for fear of job loss.
In China, where the pension and health care systems are patchy and highly stratified, adult children are the main safety net for many aging parents. Their financial support is often necessary after retirement. It is estimated that 1 million Chinese families had lost their only child by These childless, bereaved parents, now in their 50s and 60s, face an uncertain future.
What has really changed? Rights activists and campaigners point out that the one-child policy has simply become a two-child policy, with China still controlling women's reproductive rights. Amnesty International said women will remain at risk of coerced or forced abortions , and "intrusive forms of contraception" to implement the new policy.
When will the changes take effect? According to the Xinhua news agency, the policy change will have to be approved by the top legislature before coming into effect. It is unknown when this will happen but the approval is regarded as a formality. China to end one-child policy. Children denied an identity. Creating China's demographic time bomb. China reforms one-child policy. Painful legacy of one-child policy.
Image source, AFP. All Chinese couples will be allowed to have two children. Image source, Reuters. One-child families have become the social norm in China. Image source, EPA. It is already the top talking point on popular social network Sina Weibo - posts mentioning the new policy have already racked up tens of thousands of views, and hundreds of thousands of comments. More than , users have commented on Xinhua's upbeat post, and the ones with the most likes do not look upon the policy kindly.
And with a shrinking labour market, young Chinese people today accept that they have to work longer hours. Overtime and overwork are endemic. More women meanwhile are choosing to pursue further education and employment, rather than settle down early to start a family. The government's move in to allow couples to have two children failed to reverse the country's falling birth rate despite a two-year increase immediately afterwards. Yue Su, principal economist from The Economist Intelligence Unit, said: "While the second-child policy had a positive impact on the birth rate, it proved short-term in nature.
China's population trends have over the years been largely shaped by the one-child policy, which was introduced in to slow population growth. Families that violated the rules faced fines, loss of employment and sometimes forced abortions. The one-child policy also led to a severe gender imbalance in the country. The traditional preference for male children led to large numbers of girls being abandoned or placed in orphanages, or cases of sex-selective abortions or even female infanticide.
Ahead of China's latest census, experts had speculated that birth restrictions might be lifted entirely - though it appears as though China is treading cautiously. But others said that such a move could potentially lead to "other problems" - pointing out the huge disparity between city dwellers and rural people.
As much as women living in expensive cities such as Beijing and Shanghai may wish to delay or avoid childbirth, those in the countryside are likely to still follow tradition and want large families, they say.
Experts had warned that any impact on China's population, such as a decline, could have a vast effect on other parts of the world. Dr Yi Fuxian, a scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said: "China's economy has grown very quickly, and many industries in the world rely on China. The scope of the impact of a population decline would be very wide. Why don't Chinese women want more babies?
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