Topic: China's New Family Policy
By: Mara Hvistendahl
Date: November 2, 2015
http://ogoapes.weebly.com/uploads/3/2/3/9/3239894/chinas_new_birth_rule_cant_restore_missing_women_and_fix_a_population_-_scientific_american.pdf
Date: November 2, 2015
http://ogoapes.weebly.com/uploads/3/2/3/9/3239894/chinas_new_birth_rule_cant_restore_missing_women_and_fix_a_population_-_scientific_american.pdf
Summary
Recently, China has ended the one child policy which was limiting families to have only one child. Although it was in effect for 35 years, chances of sparking a baby boom and raising the economy are slim. However, that isn't the case as China has now already adapted to strictly having a single child. Even when parents were to be given this option, many will stick to one child. Changes won't happen soon since the society of China has coped with this style of living and this kind of issue has led to more concerns regarding gender inequality and the lack of youth to support the elderly. According to how this policy affected the population between males and females, there are currently more men than women due to sex-selective abortions. This occurs when a pregnant woman discovers that the sex of their baby is female through the use of ultrasound which scans the fetus to determine the gender and aborts it because baby boys are seen more valuable than baby girls in the carrying of the ancestral line. It will take a very long time before the population of men and women can be stable again.
The idea of the one child policy directly came from the Western during the mid-20th century. It stated that if birth rates were cut, it would lead to more people heavily focusing on their work which can help out the economic development while leaving out less attention towards to having to use that time in supporting the family. It all started because of the problem with population growth in their country but due to advancements in health, people are living longer which increased life expectancy. In the 1970s, China leaders have began to control their population by having a one child policy which reduced births after being influenced by the report on "The Limits to Growth". The impact of this policy has made 12% of China's population that are over age 60 with less young people to provide them support. Also, many men have problems with finding women to marry because there was an estimate that 62 million of those women who are missing due to sex-selective abortion and neglect. Sex-selective abortions have in fact been linked to population control in the 1950s and research showed that couples kept having children until they had a boy. The ending of the one child limit won't likely happen anytime soon and the gap between males and females are highly far apart where there are 118 boys for every 100 girls in 2010. Also, there isn't that much women available in the marriage market and it required for the need of bride buying because of sex-trafficking. Consequently, by 2030, the excess of men over women will reach the peak at 29 million unless China has learned to respect the women like any other normal individual.
Reflection
Its clear to see that China's population is so messed up. I really don't think that aborting a baby just because they don't see how that gender is of any worth and that to me sounds wrongful to do. It doesn't matter about the gender, what actually matters is that every single one of them is an individual, a human being. The control of what will live and die isn't right at all. I don't know if that they knew that women actually controls how big or how small a population but removing them out of the world is totally unrealistic because if you imagine the Earth with only one specific gender, there would definitely be no births. I believe that women are just as the same as men whether they are more better or not, this kind of treatment is horrible. The people need to realize how damaging it can be if they don't change the amount of child they have and that it can put the population of the elderly at risk when there isn't enough of younger people to be there for them. By taking more consideration of women in the fact that they can help lift China's undermining population from the dust to the surface, the future for both their population and women will excel in life.
Recently, China has ended the one child policy which was limiting families to have only one child. Although it was in effect for 35 years, chances of sparking a baby boom and raising the economy are slim. However, that isn't the case as China has now already adapted to strictly having a single child. Even when parents were to be given this option, many will stick to one child. Changes won't happen soon since the society of China has coped with this style of living and this kind of issue has led to more concerns regarding gender inequality and the lack of youth to support the elderly. According to how this policy affected the population between males and females, there are currently more men than women due to sex-selective abortions. This occurs when a pregnant woman discovers that the sex of their baby is female through the use of ultrasound which scans the fetus to determine the gender and aborts it because baby boys are seen more valuable than baby girls in the carrying of the ancestral line. It will take a very long time before the population of men and women can be stable again.
The idea of the one child policy directly came from the Western during the mid-20th century. It stated that if birth rates were cut, it would lead to more people heavily focusing on their work which can help out the economic development while leaving out less attention towards to having to use that time in supporting the family. It all started because of the problem with population growth in their country but due to advancements in health, people are living longer which increased life expectancy. In the 1970s, China leaders have began to control their population by having a one child policy which reduced births after being influenced by the report on "The Limits to Growth". The impact of this policy has made 12% of China's population that are over age 60 with less young people to provide them support. Also, many men have problems with finding women to marry because there was an estimate that 62 million of those women who are missing due to sex-selective abortion and neglect. Sex-selective abortions have in fact been linked to population control in the 1950s and research showed that couples kept having children until they had a boy. The ending of the one child limit won't likely happen anytime soon and the gap between males and females are highly far apart where there are 118 boys for every 100 girls in 2010. Also, there isn't that much women available in the marriage market and it required for the need of bride buying because of sex-trafficking. Consequently, by 2030, the excess of men over women will reach the peak at 29 million unless China has learned to respect the women like any other normal individual.
Reflection
Its clear to see that China's population is so messed up. I really don't think that aborting a baby just because they don't see how that gender is of any worth and that to me sounds wrongful to do. It doesn't matter about the gender, what actually matters is that every single one of them is an individual, a human being. The control of what will live and die isn't right at all. I don't know if that they knew that women actually controls how big or how small a population but removing them out of the world is totally unrealistic because if you imagine the Earth with only one specific gender, there would definitely be no births. I believe that women are just as the same as men whether they are more better or not, this kind of treatment is horrible. The people need to realize how damaging it can be if they don't change the amount of child they have and that it can put the population of the elderly at risk when there isn't enough of younger people to be there for them. By taking more consideration of women in the fact that they can help lift China's undermining population from the dust to the surface, the future for both their population and women will excel in life.