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The 1-Child Policy Debacle in the China Earthquake Aftermath
Written by Robert Vance on May 26, 2008 – 10:44 pmIt is being reported today that those residents in China who lost a child in the earthquake or have a child who was seriously injured or disabled will be exempt from the Chinese government’s infamous one-child policy. According to an AP story, Chinese officials have also said that parents who had been paying fines for having an ‘illegal’ child will no longer be required to make those payments. This relaxing of the policy comes in the aftermath of an earthquake that left thousands of parents childless in Sichuan Province.
While it is a good sign that the government will allow affected families to have more children, I wonder how Chinese people feel about the wording of this policy exemption? The underlying message behind the government’s announcement seems to be that “we know that your injured son or daughter may be now completely useless so we will allow you to have another try.” In addition, the fact that Chinese parents in the region will not have to continue paying fines on dead children that the Chinese government never wanted to see born in the first place can hardly be construed as good news. Quite simply, these announcments are insensitive because they make Chinese children out to be items that can be ‘rented’ and easily replaced. The timing of these announcements, just a little over two weeks after the ocurrence of the earthquake, is also questionable. There are still thousands of parents who are grieving over the loss of their children or caring for injuries. It is doubtful that many parents are rushing to the government offices to find out when and if they can have another child.
While I am glad that parents with an injured child will be granted the opportunity to have a second child, I fear that the policy exemption was instituted for all of the wrong reasons. China is a country that places great value on a person’s contribution to the society, family, and country. Unfortunately, children who have been maimed or disfigured in this tragedy may be viewed by some Chinese families as unfit for society and may be treated as outcasts. It would seem that this policy was designed to help Chinese families ‘have another try’ at raising a normal child; a child that they can be proud of. Hopefully, Chinese families who take advantage of this policy exemption will not view this opportunity as a way to replace their injured child. Rather, this rare opportunity should be seen as a way to add more joy to their homes through the birth of another child.
Many people in China may ’sing the praises’ of the one-child policy but many more are willing to pay hefty fines to bring another child into the world. Perhaps the announcement that parents will no longer have to make payments on their ‘illegal’ children who perished in the earthquake will encourage these parents to have more ‘illegal’ children. Otherwise, it is hard to imagine that parents could see much good in this policy exemption. After all, most of the parents who chose to ‘disobey’ the one-child policy were not concerned about money in the first place; they were more than willing to make a financial sacrifice so that they could to have another child. No good news from the government can replace the deaths of these children or comfort the thousands of grieving parents who mourn their losses.
The one-child policy is not going away anytime soon. It is estimated that anywhere between 350 and 400 million births in China have been prevented as a result of this policy since its institution in the late 1970’s. It has been lauded worldwide as a policy that has helped save China from a suffocating population and has helped propel its miraculous economic development. Even environmentalists have praised the policy citing evidence that without the prevention of these millions of births, the strain on China’s environment would have produced disastrous results. However, it is in times like these, that the tragic consequences of this policy are clearly exposed to the world; it puts a price on human life, interferes with nature and controls the lives and destinies of millions of families throughout the country. Oh, what a price has been paid for a little more breathing room in China.
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Nobody likes one child policy. Nobody would vote for one child policy. Yes it creates problems we are all aware of, yadda yadda yadd…
But it had to be done to avert a massive train wreck. Somebody had to do it. There’s no real voluntary alternative, especially given the resource constraint of China.
You are quite welcome to propose alternatives. Howeverm keep in mind that when you are poor, the solutions available to you are always two steps forward and one step back. You don’t have the luxury of the “neat” solutions.
One child policy has been a net positive, because otherwise we’d be talking something entirely different today
You said: “we know that your injured son or daughter may be now completely useless so we will allow you to have another try.”
But what’s new about this? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought there was always a similar exception. I believe that if your first child is “seriously” disabled from birth (ie: missing limb, mentally disabled, blind, deaf, etc.) you are allowed to have another child. This just goes along with the general attitude about disabled people, if anything, it doesn’t really signal a shift, they were always looked at as useless.
@Falen,
You said, “Nobody likes one child policy.” Really? Have you asked anyone in China lately? Most Chinese people I talk to are wholeheartedly sold on this policy. Chinese girls have even told me that they would only have one child if they were in America simply because “it’s the best way to go.”
Check out this article that I wrote a few months ago.
http://www.teachabroadchina.com/girls-one-child-policy/
Has the one child policy really been a net positive?
@ b.cheng
I think the already existing exception that you are referring to is for babies who are disabled or deformed at birth. It doesn’t usually apply to childhood accidents…someone correct me if I’m wrong.
And you are right…there isn’t any major shift. That is why I wrote
“However, it is in times like these, that the tragic consequences of this policy are clearly exposed to the world; it puts a price on human life, interferes with nature and controls the lives and destinies of millions of families throughout the country.”
I am not sure, but I think you are right that it doesn’t apply to childhood accidents. I think the aspect when it comes to disabled is really sad, but I think in all the cheer for the change, people are ignoring what it actually says, so while I’m glad you brought that out, I do agree with the other commentor, the one child policy, overall, is a good thing and most Chinese I know grudgingly support it. That said, wow, you know people who actually support the policy wholeheartedly? I think that 90% or more of Chinese friends that I have who are single children tell me how much they hated not having a brother/sister and wish they had one and how they would definitely have 2 kids.
[...] The infamous 1-Child policy in China has been ‘modified’ for parents who lost children in the recent Sichuan Earthquake. Parents whose children were injured may [...]