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Get Help Now!China’s Population Policies
China ranks as the world’s most populated countries in the world, but since the year 2007, the government has had to take stringent measures to curb the rampant growth of the population. Since then, it imposed different population growth policies that have seen the population growth rate reduce by more than 50%. Indeed, the policies have been working, but to an extent, causing some harm to the country’s population balance and statistics reveal that the elderly are the majority in comparison to younger people. The population policies have had a remarkable change in China’s population over the past few years, but it has noticeably exposed the country to unfavorable conditions that may harm the country in the future. This paper will exploit the benefits resulting from the introduction of the population policies and the negative impact of the same using data, case studies and other supporting information from literature.
Overpopulation of a country puts unnecessary pressure on the environment as it tries to accommodate the ever-growing number of people. People need places to reside and work, which is best attained by destroying the green environment to allow space for the growing population to build and develop homes and workplaces. However, with the introduction of policies such as the one-child approach has helped reduce the population growth and relieve the pressure on the environment. In turn, people are less and settling on the available land does not require destruction of the environment. Although China is ignorant about taking care of the environment, some areas have not been destroyed for the purposes of development. In addition, the government and some citizens have taken the initiative to prohibit developments from taking place in some areas of the country, for example, Xiamen, a city located on the southeastern coast.
Since 1978, China’s economy has been on a growing trend with the highest growth potential reached after the country’s government introduced the various population policies. The one-child policy, among other strategies has led to a standard population consisting of many elderly people and few youths. The country is recorded to have about 110 million people of the whole population being above 65 years of age. Indeed, this has proved to be both beneficial and harmful to the economy. The elderly earn adequate money to sustain their families and help grow the economy. However, there is looming danger to this population growth trend because soon there will be a deficiency of the workforce for the elderly will be too old to work. Additionally, the youth will be too young to provide quality and efficient workforces. This worrying trend may cause harm to the economy in the future with inadequate and less experienced workforces.
China’s pollution has significantly dropped over the years since the implementation of the one-child policy because of the reduced population growth. Water is among the scarcest resources in the country because of the many people that use it while others pollute the available reservoirs. High population growth has previously led to cases of increased pollution incidences and a majority are encouraged by the destruction of the environment to accommodate the ever-growing number of people. However, times have changed and people are aware of the importance of sustaining a green environment and watching their population growth rate. The more the people, the more the carbon dioxide released to the atmosphere, which in turn, causes the greenhouse effect and ultimately, pollution of the air. An increase in the population means increased number of vehicles in use, which causes an increased emission of gases to the atmosphere. According to statistics, by the year 2000, vehicles in urban areas of China were the leading causes of air pollution, but it would have been worse if the government lacked implementation of the population policies.
Economic growth has been significantly on the rise in the Republic of China, which has encouraged different benefits that include eradication of poverty. Employment opportunities have since been realized upon the introduction of population policies and improvement of the economy. Consequently, many of the working members of China provide for their families and reduce poverty. Since the policy dictates one child per family, it is easy for the salaries and wages paid to the working members to be adequate for everyone’s needs. Records reveal that population poverty, in the rural areas, has reduced by about 200 million between 1978 and 2002 with an average of 9 million per year. The reduction has been an outcome of population growth control in the country since the late 1970s. The urban areas have also had a significant decrease in poverty with many having access to good paying jobs and up-to-date living standards.
A limited population growth rate has led to China’s increased focus on crucial matters that have transformed the country. For instance, China realized that the available land is limited to carry out agricultural activities on a large scale, but it can be used to provide sufficient food for feeding the entire republic. To aid in this, they enforced the population policies to trim the growth rate and concentrated on technical advancement in the country. As such, the government reduced the consumption rate by cutting down the population growth and increased productivity in the agricultural sector by introducing advanced techniques. Atop all that, the government has dedicated itself to introducing other helpful measures to help the country sustain its population, for example, land policies that guide the use of the limited natural resource and research and development strategy to improve the technology used in the agriculture sector. The main aim of the government is to control the rate at which the available food is consumed and watch over the population to prohibit them from overpopulating the country.
China allows families to bear only one child, which is a policy introduced in the late 1970s. It has, indeed, served the country, and helped it reach better economic and environmental levels. However, the journey has not been a smooth one with many suffering in different ways because of the policies. Many families have wanted to start a large family, but the policy is stern and when one bears more than one baby, they are fined. In addition, the policy encourages couples to sire boys rather than girls and in the earlier years, there used to be forced abortions once an unborn child was discovered to be female. Such harsh exposure speaks volumes of the sufferings that people have had to undergo since the introduction of the policies. The wealthy in China have an advantage over the poor and the middle class since they can bribe their way to sire additional children. Such people can easily afford to pay the fine, and have no restrictions on the number of children they want to bear, as long as they can pay for it.
The sole children of the families may face various difficulties because of the loneliness they experience as they grow. Lack of playing mates while at home may cause psychological problems such as slow growth and development where a child takes too long to learn various skills, for example, speaking. Additionally, the children may turn out to be introverts since they do not have close playmates of the same age or as young as them to interact with and familiarize with via socializing. Many are times when a majority of these children lacks cousins with whom they can interact because the parents are most likely from a one-child family. Recently, China noticed that the trend is unfavorable for the children and allowed families in the urban areas to bear a second child if the father and mother were sole children of their parents. The move by the government has its risks, but many deem this as an act of kindness and embrace the change despite the impending threats in future.
China’s GDP has increased exceptionally over the years since the inception of the population policies, which interprets to high economic growth. Thus, the government shifted its focus towards economic development sans taking care of the environment requirements. Thus, the environment has neglected the harm facing and destroying the green environment. Controlling the population growth has led to China unveiling better economic times and increased destruction of the environment in the course of industrialization. The greenhouse effect is extensively spreading in China with many people in the urban areas driving vehicles that emit harmful gases that settle in the atmosphere. China’s economic focus is high, but its environment is suffering and the government needs to take precautionary measures instead of just declaring its existence.
When the government introduced the population policies in 1979, at first it encouraged the birth of male children. In turn, the government belittles the woman in China and views her as a part of the overpopulation problem. In turn, many girl infants were aborted during the initial stages of the population policies. This has resulted in an imbalanced population with more males than females. Statistics from the year 2000 show that various areas of China had 100 boys for every 120 girls born, while in others, it was reported that the females were double the number of the males. Projections show that by 2020 the gender gap will be over 40 million with the number of boys being much more than that of girls. This is a worrying trend, as many men will lack brides to marry in the future.
China is currently branded as having an aging population because of the large number of old people and few young individuals. The main reason for this trend is the population policies introduced in the 1970s, making people bear few children yet the parents are many. The dire consequences of this trend include the reduction of workforces because most of the employed people will retire, but the young individuals to replace them are few. Additionally, the government faces pressure from the increased number of retiring individuals who expect to receive pension payments. This is unhealthy for the economy since it leads to a situation where the output is higher than the input, causing instability in the country’s financial performance.
Another problem associated with the one-child policy is the levy charged to families that do not conform to the law. The government is staunch on this policy and families that do not pay the fine face grave consequences. Some members end up losing their family homes to the government if they are unable to meet the fines. In case a family happens to have an extra child apart from the one allowed by the government, they do not register it in order to evade the government’s wrath. Consequently, such children grow without identity and others are put up for adoption for the parents to avoid paying the fine or putting their homes in danger of confiscation. Cases of child trafficking have been reported in China where families with extra children ship them out of the country. This is a dangerous trade and often endangers the lives and future of the children, but it is necessary to avoid the hefty fines from the government.
The population policies have been linked to other social problems such as creating little emperors from the male children. Families highly adore little boys because they are responsible for carrying on the family name from one generation to the next. In China, giving birth to a boy child is an extensive expectation that parents look forward to because they are an avenue of retaining the family name and legacy. Once the boys are born, many are adored and showered with gifts and treated with high admiration, which can be unhealthy for the children. Some children may perceive the admiration gestures in the wrong way and end up growing into derogatory individuals. Other children may be exposed to excess unhealthy eating habits as part of the adoration, and they end up becoming obese. It is for sure that the admiration is for a good cause, but the outcomes may be too much for the children and they may become brats. Hence, it is advisable for parents to recognize the importance of a boy child and the girls.
In June 2012, a female named Feng Jianmei was a victim of forced abortion in China following the government’ regulation of the population growth. In this scenario, Feng was detected, via ultrasound, to be carrying a 7 month unborn girl in her womb. As a measure to follow the population policy, she was forced to abort the unborn child, but the story leaked to the world through the internet. The world was shocked by this incident and blamed the government for the death of the unborn girl and the suffering subjected to the mother. International pressure pushed for justice and the matter was eventually resolved outside the court. Such is an example of a predicament that mothers in China have been facing since the implementation of the population policies. Many have been forced to abort any extra children apart from the first one, while others have abandoned their young ones to avoid facing punishment from the government. To some extent, the policy exhibits high levels of cruelty with many children and families suffering because of accidental pregnancies, for example. The policy has been deduced as horrendous and having outgrown its purpose, but still there is concern surrounding the matter with many fearing that the population would start growing uncontrollably if the strategy was banned from applying.
China population policies have been in implementation since the late 1970s and evidently impacted the republic in various ways, both positively and negatively. The policies have also put China under the scrutiny of international bodies that feel the strategies are unnecessary or too harsh. The country’s economy has been on the growing trend with many people finding decent jobs and resources to support their small families. Additionally, the policy has helped the government to focus on developing the country with people conforming to the set family planning rules. It is indeed helpful, but different problems have sprouted from the policies with many encouraging inhumane acts such as house compensations and abortions.
China’s population size is a worrying factor that was of concern to the government and it took the necessary steps early enough to avoid cases of overpopulation. However, the policies are currently overstepping their boundaries and causing an international disturbance since they are either too harsh or inhuman by nature. The population imbalance is increasing with males being more than the females in the country, a situation that has led to some people trafficking brides from neighboring countries. Moreover, the workforce in the country is affected by the large age gap between the country’s young people and elderly. The elderly are retiring from the jobs but there are few people constituting the younger generation, making it difficult to fill all the slots left by the ones leaving their jobs. The situation in China is sensitive because the policies have led to positive changes that would have been harmful if there were no strategies to regulate the population. At the same time, there is a concern as to whether the harm caused by the policies in the control of the population growth is a part of the strategy.
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