China today
China has about 1.3 billion people — 20 percent of the world’s population. Although the government has stated that it will keep the population under 1.36 billion by 2010 and under 1.45 billion by 2020, this remains a challenge in a nation that is rapidly growing and industrializing.
Since 1979, China’s family size has been overseen by the One-Child Policy, a controversial and effective tool. While the population growth has slowed during the nearly three decades the policy has been in place, other unforeseen problems have developed, including a significant gender imbalance due to the economic and cultural preference for girls. Claims of forced sterilizations and abortions are still common in some parts of the country, and the government continues to struggle to evenly apply the policy from province to province.
As family size has gone down, the resources available to children and their parents has risen significantly. More children are attaining higher levels of education, and more women are entering the workforce and obtaining good-paying jobs. For many Chinese, the One-Child Policy has been a mixed blessing — at the cost of reproductive autonomy, the nation has boosted its economy, and there are more resources to go around. For those who grew up during or before the Cultural Revolution, during times of famine and war, this is the best its ever been, and they see no reason to drastically change the policy.
Young Chinese people today — members of the “Only-Child Generation” — face a host of unique challenges, including heavy pressure from their families to succeed and more opportunities than ever before to go to school, travel, and obtain fulfilling employment. Many believe the policy will change, and that the government will relax its stance, although there has been no official statement to indicate this.
This website is designed to serve as a guide to the history, implementation, outcomes, and future direction of the One-Child Policy. As China continues to become a dominant economic player in the world, its policies and culture will be put in an international spotlight. The international community can learn a great deal from China’s One-Child Policy, especially as another sleeping giant, India, grapples with its own population size woes and related family planning policies.