The Worst Good Idea: Research on China’s One-child Policy

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Recommended: Problems with overpopulation in China

Population expansion has been a serious problem to the human society for a long time because the resources and spaces of the Earth are limited. China, as the third largest country in the world, has one fifth of the world population. Chinese people used to believe that a larger population meant a stronger country. Therefore, from 1962 to 1980, which is the China’s baby boom, the population of China grew from 665 million to 981 million. The sharp population increase brought a series of problems, like environmental pollution, traffic congestion and shortage of water and food supplies. To reduce the population growth rate, in 1979, the Chinese government implemented the famous One-child Policy. This policy was planned as a short-term program, but it is still in use till now because of the successful prevention of about 400 million births. Meanwhile, the One-child Policy has been judged as a violation of human rights and a demographic disaster which brings gender imbalance, aging of the population and manpower shortage. On one hand, it truly lowers the birth rate and population growth rate of China. However, on the other hand, the One-child Policy has already done harm for the Chinese society. Although this policy seems to be undermining the right of procreation of millions of Chinese women, it is still the worst good idea that the Chinese government could have to keep the population down.
The One-child Policy, as a mandatory policy, has already brought damages to the Chinese population structure. One of the most significant problems is the increasing imbalance of the sex ratio. The conception that “Boys are more important than girls” is quite common in many Asian societies because boys would inherit the family name (children follow t...

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...hild Policy in China Today." Journal of Comparative Family Studies 18.2 (1987): 309-325.Academic Search Complete. Print.
Feng, Xiaotian, Poston Jr., Dudley L., and Wang, Xiaotao. “China’s One-Child Policy and the Changing Family.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 44.2 (2014): 17-29. Academic Search Complete. Print.
Yijia, Jing. “The One-Child Policy Needs An Overhaul.” Journal of Policy Analysis & Management 32.2 (2013): 392-399. Business Source Complete. Print.
“Annual Report 2008.” U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China,
“Former Parents.” Life after Loss. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. .
“The Elderly in China.” About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. .

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