China ended its One- Child Policy on Oct. 29 after more than 30 years of regulating population control.
President Xi Jingping announced during a party meeting that married couples will now be allowed to have two children.
While the policy was imposed in the late 1970s by former- leader Deng Xiaoping to ensure that the country’s economic power will not be overshadowed by population growth, Jingping decided to phase out the rule due to fears that an aging population could harm China’s economic status as a growing power.
While this decision can be seen as a step toward a more democratic China, the ruling just might be another drastic change for the totalitarian regime to let its citizens know exactly who’s in charge. Some experts also believe that the new Two-Child Policy won’t exactly convince couples to have more than one child.
In an interview with The Daily Caller News Foundation, Steven Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute who has studied the demographic patterns of the population of China for several decades, explained that this new policy just might include a measure that will ban abortions and will be enforced by the government following the ruling.
President Xi Jingping announced during a party meeting that married couples will now be allowed to have two children.
While the policy was imposed in the late 1970s by former- leader Deng Xiaoping to ensure that the country’s economic power will not be overshadowed by population growth, Jingping decided to phase out the rule due to fears that an aging population could harm China’s economic status as a growing power.
While this decision can be seen as a step toward a more democratic China, the ruling just might be another drastic change for the totalitarian regime to let its citizens know exactly who’s in charge. Some experts also believe that the new Two-Child Policy won’t exactly convince couples to have more than one child.
In an interview with The Daily Caller News Foundation, Steven Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute who has studied the demographic patterns of the population of China for several decades, explained that this new policy just might include a measure that will ban abortions and will be enforced by the government following the ruling.
“If they need more babies, there will be forced pregnancies in China,” Mosher said. “There will be orders to couples to bear a child for the state. They will have no trouble telling women they have to get pregnant for the good of the state.”
This ruling, despite its seemingly overall positive intentions for the world power, has several flaws. Only married couples are allowed to have children, forcing nine out of 10 women who have a child out of wedlock to get an abortion. Chinese police keep records of those who are able to bear children, with house visits and subsequent arrests made if suspicions arise.
However, China isn’t the only dictatorship to have a hold on population growth. North Korean ruler, Kim Jong Un, recently outlawed abortions in his state of power to increase the birth rate, due to North Korea’s shrinking population.
This ruling, despite its seemingly overall positive intentions for the world power, has several flaws. Only married couples are allowed to have children, forcing nine out of 10 women who have a child out of wedlock to get an abortion. Chinese police keep records of those who are able to bear children, with house visits and subsequent arrests made if suspicions arise.
However, China isn’t the only dictatorship to have a hold on population growth. North Korean ruler, Kim Jong Un, recently outlawed abortions in his state of power to increase the birth rate, due to North Korea’s shrinking population.
During the reign of the One-Child Policy, children who were born into a family who already had a child were born into a silent, secretive life, banished from mainstream society. Despite the fact that this policy is now being phased out, this frightening reality won’t end anytime soon. Most of the second children in China never attend school and are not recognized by people other than their family. Parents of second children are also punished — they no longer have access to education or health care once having a second child.
What kind of world do we live in? A world where children who are born into circumstances out of their control are automatically cast as outsiders, due to no fault of their own? If this ruling were to take effect in the U.S., citizens would not stand for it. Americans have a notorious history of not sitting down and taking oppression, i.e. the Revolutionary War and Ferguson, so a government decision on population limitations would simply not fly here. The fact that Chinese citizens have no room to wiggle their way out of unfair governmental policies is depressing.
What kind of world do we live in? A world where children who are born into circumstances out of their control are automatically cast as outsiders, due to no fault of their own? If this ruling were to take effect in the U.S., citizens would not stand for it. Americans have a notorious history of not sitting down and taking oppression, i.e. the Revolutionary War and Ferguson, so a government decision on population limitations would simply not fly here. The fact that Chinese citizens have no room to wiggle their way out of unfair governmental policies is depressing.
This decision made by the Communist Party is nothing but a power move. In the past, China’s government has gone to the extreme to have extensive control over its citizens. Examples include the July 2009 ban of Facebook following the Urumqi riots due to independence activists’ usage of the social media site, as well as the One- Child Policy itself. Time and time again, China chooses to focus on its economic status rather than its citizens, who have been oppressed since the formation of the Communist Party of China in 1921. While this policy might positively affect the country’s economy, it certainly won’t help citizens already affected by the previous policy, at least for now.
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