China's One Child Policy Flashcards
What was the population already at when Chairman Mao encouraged the population growth?
540 million
When was the one child policy introduced?
1979
Who introduced the one child policy?
Deng Xiaoping
What is the current population of China?
1.3 billion
What was the population expected to be by now had it not been for the one child policy?
1.8 billion
Was the one child policy effective in reducing the growth of China’s population?
Yes, it reduced the population dramatically
What did the fertility rate fall from to?
Fell from 5.7 to 2.9
How many births were prevented?
400 million
Why is the fact that there are less children a good thing?
They have better opportunity for education
What incentives were provided for families who obliged with the one child policy?
Free healthcare, longer maternity leave, better pensions and education
Why were boys preferred to girls when people had children?
The girls would marry into the husbands family so they would leave their parents unsupported in their old age
Why was the one child policy the reason for the increase in forced abortion and female infanticide?
Baby girls were undesirable so they didn’t want to have a baby girl
What is the gender imbalance in China?
Male : Female
4 : 1
What is little emperor syndrome?
A child’s parents spoilt their child because they only had one child
What did little emperor syndrome result in?
Increased amounts of child obesity
Why is the one child policy a bad idea in regards to parents in their old age?
The older generation will have less people taking care of them in their old age as there is only one child per 2 parents and due to the increasing life expectancy they can expect to live even longer, which will strain the economy
When were ultrasounds outlawed and why?
In 1994 because many women were having ultrasounds to see if their child was to be a girl, if so then they would usually abort it. Illegal ultrasounds was supposed to decrease the amount of abortions
When did Susan greenhalgh and John bogaarts propose an alternative to the one child policy?
In 1985
Who proposed an alternative to the one child policy in 2006 and what was it?
Wang Jeng proposed the 2 child policy
Name 4 advantages to the two child policy
- meet the fertility desire of most couples
- help the severely ageing population
- reduce the gender imbalance as girls wouldn’t be aborted
- release the government from the burden of supporting an unpopular policy
What were the exceptions to the one child policy?
- if you lived in rural areas, you needed more help on farms etc
- if your first born had a physical disability
- after 1980 if your first born was a girl you could have another baby
- could have 2 children if both parents came from a one child household/family
What was the consequence if you had another child illegally?
The parents could keep the child but they were to be fined or arrested
What was the minimum age for women to be married?
25 and with permission to be married from parents
Why was the one child policy introduced?
In 1949, dictator leader of China, Chairman Mao, encouraged China to have lots of children to build up a super army. It was introduced to alleviate the increase in population
How late would some parents leave it before aborting their girls?
Up to 38 weeks
How long would American parents wait to adopt a Chinese baby girl?
Years whilst they are left abandoned in orphanages
How many unmarried men are there in China?
24 million
What does such a high rate of bachelors cause?
High crime rates
Why did many men propose in such drastic ways?
So it was harder for girls to say no as there were so few girls to men and they didn’t want to live alone. Rich boys would pay lots of money to marry a girl
