One child policy of China Essay Example for Free

One s flummoxr policy of China EssayThe issue of population maturation has been champion of the major problems faced by world over past century. The exponential population growth, popularly termed as population explosion, has led to unique rise in human population, which has numerically grown by over 4 meg to 6 billion in the last hundred years itself.This enormous growth in human poesy has spawned social and sparingal problems of severe complexity, especially considering the fact that most of this growth has happened in economically underdeveloped countries of Asian and African region, particularly India and China, both of whom have seen their population growing past a billion mark. Supporting much(prenominal) huge number of ever rising population is indeed a dispute for any country, as natural resources threaten to run short, and economic privations become a general norm. to a petty(a)er place such circumstances, population control becomes a necessary government objective, the validity, importance and meaningfulness of which are undisputable from environmental, economic and social angels. However, population control policies have always generated controversies from humanitarian and ethical viewpoints, the most noted recitation of them being the population control policy of Peoples Republic of China that restricts couples to having just one youngster (Xue, 1996).Although highly doive under Chinas strict state policies, it is indeed an fundamental measure that has invited criticism from all over the world because for its forceful rather than coercive implications. Issues involved As stated earlier, unchecked rise in population is indeed an invitation to complex and unmanageable problems that no tribe state can handle irrespective of its size and resources. However, the issues involved with Chinas one boor policy are very complicated and affect some basic concepts of right to life and conceptionChina launched its aggressive family plann ing scheme in mid of 1970s when suddenly its policy makers realised the dangers of a quickly growing population that had reached one billion mark by 1980s (Smith, 1991). In the previous two decades the government had failed to take in cognizance of growing population due to stableness and improvement economic conditions, availability of medical facilities, medicines and drop in kidskin mortality.More ominously, as demographers realized, the rapid growth of population in previous decades implied that by 1980 more than half the population was approaching brotherhood age, which meant that even under decreasing fertility rate, the Chinese population would reach 1. 4 billion by end of the century (White, 2003). This realization launched Chinese policy makers and government in a frenetic test to implement some of the strictest population measures that included a one- electric razor policy per couple to contain the population under 1. 2 billion (Richards, 1996).This draconian measure was explained and justified from various social and economical angels, one of which was problematical shortage of cultivable land (Smith, 1991). As government argued, the cultivable land per person had come down in the mouth from . 20 hectare in 1949 to . 10 hectare in 1980 due to almost doubling of population in the alike(p) period and hence the ensuing crisis demanded critical measures (ibid). Moreover the state infrastructure and its capacity to support such large population, provide adequate medical and educational facilities and ensure jobs for it would become increasingly difficult.As claimed by supporters of the one child policy, the policy was merely concerned with providing economic incentives and preferential treatment to families with one child such as paid pregnancy leave, lucrative salary bonus, and state sponsored or free educational and medical facilities, facilities that families with more than one child lack. Further disincentives created for larger families incl ude financial penalty on birth of second and third child that are respectively 20 and 30 percent of the annual income of the family (Richards, 1996).The policy was tooth and nail opposed by a large proportion of Chinese people, and especially by those in rural areas but government decided to continue with it seeing its possible benefit in controlling the population question. One of the main problems disturbing Chinese leaders was Chinas low GNP and very simple calculations showed them that to increase GNP in the longer run, they required to reduce or contain the number of people, which was the easy way against the hard route that involved working towards increasing the economic output (Feng, 1996).Containing population growth was presented was the single panacea that could increase per capita income, help achieve modernization plans, feast impetus to the economy and solve the problem of additional resource requirements that rising population presented (Feng, 1996). The one child p olicy is considered officially successful and instrumental in significantly reducing birth rates, fertility rates, growth rates and death rates and its expected that soon the population would began to decline at a fast-breaking rate as children born after the implementation of the policy would have less desire to have a family of more than one child (Richards).Also to wash off its hand from the negative effect of the policy, such as increased number of female feticide, and suicides among Chinese females, the government insistently attributed them to backward and antiquated Chinese culture and customs. Conclusion Despite the claims of the supporters and the official government, it cannot be denied that the very concept of the one child policy involves flagrant violations of the rights to live, procreate and live socially.In its zeal to implement the policy, Chinese authorities permitted such extreme measures as forcible abortions and sterilization, which were openly illegal in ever y humanitarian statute (Xue and Xiaokang, 1996). By making childbearing an illegal act, the government forcibly tried to change the demographic dynamics with suicidal social consequences that threatens to create a mundane and homogenous society bereft of any relation draw off parents and in-laws. Also the one child policy triggered a large number of female-infanticide that threatened to dangerously neuter male-female sex ratio in China.Of course the most cruel fate was reserved for those who were born away this policy, that is the second and third child of the family who were denied any state support and facility in a short state controlled society. In the wake of an economically prospering and comparatively stabilized China, its the call of the bit for Chinese government to finally abandon and bury its anti-people one child policy and work on creation of a more informed society.