Unit 2 Case Study: China's "One Child Policy"

Question 1

Facts about China

Answer 1

Population in excess of 1.3 billion
Policy prevented 300 million births
25% is infertile desert or mountain
10% of total area can be for arable farming
7 provinces have populations more than the UK

Question 2

What happened in 1949?

Answer 2

The communist revolution so growth was encouraged for economic, military and strategic reasons. Sterilisation and abortion were banned. Benefit payments for children

Question 3

What was the population at by 1954?

Answer 3

600 million and the government was worried about food

Question 4

What year was the first birth-control programme implmented?

Answer 4

1956

Question 5

What happened in 1958?

Answer 5

The Great Leap Forward began but the government worried that progress would be hindered by labour shortages so births wee again encouraged

Question 6

When did the policy run from?

Answer 6

1979-2015

Question 7

What was the aim of the policy?

Answer 7

To reduce the rate of population growth because the government saw that prevailing rates of growth would face food shortages and other resource shortages

Question 8

What has the population risen from and to?

Answer 8

Risen from 550 million in 1950 to almost 1 billion in 1979, greater than any other country

Question 9

Why was the population rising so fast?

Answer 9

Because of the falling death rate and life expectancy rose from 36 in 1950 to 67 in 1979. The optimum population was 700 million and the aim was to fall to this by 2080. During the 1960’s the government had encouraged children so by 1979 there were lots of people coming into child-bearing age so even if every couple only had 1 child, the population would still grow rapidly

Question 10

What did excessive population cause?

Answer 10

Reduced output per worker, depressed the level of living and produced strife. When imbalance occurred, the government should move people to more underpopulated areas

Question 11

Why were births discouraged in 1962

Answer 11

A large famine due to the neglect of agriculture occurred

Question 12

How many people died during the 1962 famine?

Answer 12

20 million so in 1965, more birth control ensued

Question 13

What happened to births during the cultural revolution?

Answer 13

The Cultural Revolution was the period from 1966 to 1971 in which birth rates peaked at 45/1000

Question 14

When was another family planning campaign launched?

Answer 14

1970

Question 15

When was the One Child Policy imposed and how did some people see this?

Answer 15

1979 and it could be seen as a violation of civil liberties

Question 16

What has happened since 2013?

Answer 16

29 of the 31 regions on the mainland have allowed 2 children. In urban areas people didn’t still have children to preserve their living standards

Question 17

What was announced in 2015?

Answer 17

All couples were allowed to have 2 children starting in March 2016

Question 18

What were the rules of the One Child Policy?

Answer 18

No woman could marry under 20
A permit was required to have a baby
Women were given free contraception and pre-natal classes
Individual areas were set targets for enforcing these rules
If a woman had a child with a license, they would receive free care and education
Women with 1 child were sterillised
If a women has a second without a license there would be a fine
No penalties for twins
In rural areas, couple were allowed 2 but with a 2 year age gap

Question 19

Who were permits only given to?

Answer 19

Women of the right age who had not already had a child. If a women fell pregnant without a license, should would be ‘encouraged’ to have an abortion

Question 20

How did the policy impact the sex ratio?

Answer 20

Currently 119 boys to 100 girls at birth. In some provinces this is as high as 140. China has an estimated 32 million male men under 20 than women. This imbalance is greatest in rural areas causing social problems

Question 21

What is a major cause of the sex ratio?

Answer 21

Selective abortion. Even if a female child is born, her life span may be short due to infanticide or deliberate neglect

Question 22

What will happen to males due to this sex imbalance?

Answer 22

They will never find a female partner

Question 23

What is the 4-2-1 problem?

Answer 23

1 child has to care for 2 parents and 4 grandparents. Care for the elderly is becoming a major issue

Question 24

What happened to babies from people who breached the policy?

Answer 24

They were sold for adoption abroad

Question 25

What were the fines for having a second child?

Answer 25

Up to 20000 pounds. Some wealthy people therefore could buy their way out of the policy or some people went to Hong Kong where no permit was required

Question 26

What occurred that caused wages to rise?

Answer 26

A decline in the supply of young labour

Question 27

What were boy children called?

Answer 27

Little emperors since they were often overweight, arrogant and lacked social skills

Question 28

What happened to the crude birth rate?

Answer 28

Between 1950 and 2014 it fell from 43.8/1000 to 12/1000

Question 29

What was the population increase from 2000 to 2010?

Answer 29

0.57% per year which was half of the level of the previous decade and a third of the 1970 level

Question 30

How did total fertility rate change?

Answer 30

6.1 between 1965 and 1970
2.6 between 1980 and 1985
1.9 between 1990 and 1995
1.7 between 2000 and 2005
1.6 in 2013

Question 31

Why did the policy work so well?

Answer 31

China had long been a country where the government had a big influence over the daily lives of people and most were accepting of their rulings. Decisions made by the government and nominated leaders in state-owned factories and farms could be enforced. Granny police were chosen to check that local couples were following the new rules