1. The results of the policy are questionable at best.

Although China claims that 400 million births were prevented with their One Child Policy, other
nations, such as Iran and Thailand, experienced similar per-capita declines in population without a
similar policy in place. The reduction in births is more associated to economic growth than a
restriction on family size.

2. It created a disparity in the childbirth ratio.

In mainland China, the ratio of boys born compared to girls born reached a peak of 117: 100 after
1990, which is thought to be above the natural 111:100 ratio that can occur. That meant by 2020,
there will be 30 million more men in Chinese society compared to women, which could lead to social
instability. It may also be the cause of future emigration in the desire to find a mate.

3. It increased the costs of adoption.

Parents who already had a child faced higher adoption costs because of China’s one child policy.
This increased the number of children that were forced to live in state-run orphanages. In the 1980s,
high mortality rates in some institutions caused some reforms to occur, but still separated children
from their parents. Girls were disproportionally affected by this policy, with some families failing to
even register their birth with the government for fear of losing their child.

4. It created care problems for adult children.

Because only one child was allowed, it forced a care burden on the first generation of adult children
in family groups. Commonly referred to as the “4-2-1 Problem,” it meant that one child had to care for
their two parents and their four grandparents. This created a greater reliance on dependency
programs and charitable works for a quality lifestyle to have their needs met. Since 2011, provinces
allow couples to have two children if they are an only child to counter this issue.

5. The one child policy created a practice called “birth tourism.”

To counter the problem of the one child policy, some families would travel to a foreign country or to
Hong Kong for the birth of their second child. The US was a particularly popular travel destination as
most children born in the United States have automatic US citizenship. Many Chinese families would
travel to Saipan since it allowed Chinese visitors without a visa, creating birth tourism trips to
maintain family structures.

6. It was unequally enforced.

Numerous examples of unequal enforcement of the one child policy have been documented.
Filmmaker Zhang Yimou had three children and was fined the equivalent of $1.2 million. In 2005,
nearly 2,000 officials in one province violated the policy, but most did not face any penalties.

7. It suggests a violation of what many believe is a human right.

Planning the size of one’s family is believed to be a basic human right. In a 1968 proclamation from
the International Conference on Human Rights, it was decided that the number and spacing of
children in a family is a basic right of the parents. To accommodate the policy, sterilizations were set
and perhaps required, though evidence is limited. Even eugenics were promoted in the past within
China as part of the one child policy.
 One-child policy, official program initiated in the late 1970s and
early ’80s by the central government of China, the purpose of which
was to limit the great majority of family units in the country to one
child each. The rationale for implementing the policy was to reduce
the growth rate of China’s enormous population. It was announced
in late 2015 that the program was to end in early 2016.

Chinese leader Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/one-child-policy

Deng Xiaoping

1. It was supported within the country.

Countries should have the ability to dictate their own course of societal growth, even if other nations
don’t always agree with the policies that are in place. 76% of the population in China supported the
One Child Policy in surveys taken in 2006. Although some objections were based on the morality of
restricting family size, there are families in other societies that voluntarily do the same thing that
China mandated.

2. Multiple births were exempted.

If families had twins or triplets, then the one child policy was not enforced for that pregnancy. A
2006 report in China Daily estimated that the number of pregnancies with multiples doubled during
the time of enforcement for this policy. It may have also increased the number of families who
sought to use fertility medication so they could have additional children without a financial penalty.

3. It changed the place of a woman in Chinese society.

Because families were restricted to one child, it changed the traditional role of girls and women in
Chinese society. Families who invest into their children, allowing girls to go to school, receive
vocational supports, and additional training opportunities that may not have been allowed or
encouraged in the past. This has allowed the quality of life for the average woman in China to
increase dramatically over the past generation.

4. It rewarded compliance with needed goods and services.

To encourage compliance with the one child policy, the Chinese government provided families with
a certificate that rewarded them. Education subsidies, housing improvements, a longer leave period
from their job, and interest-free loans were just some of the economic benefits that were awarded to
families that complied with the policy.

5. It may have increased job opportunities and wages.

With a generation of mostly only children entering the workforce, there would be more job
opportunities and the chance for higher wages when compared to societies that did not have a one
child policy in place. This could have helped to reduce the levels of extreme poverty that China
experienced after World War II and lessened the food shortages that the country was experiencing.