China Ends One-Child Policy

Authorities in China have decided to put an end to its policy of one-child per family. The policy was started in 1979 as a drastic measure to control the ballooning population in the country.

It is estimated that within the last 35 years of the policy over 400 million increase in the population had been prevented. Any erring family got sanctions ranging from job losses to loss of access to state health or other facilities or outright abortion of the child that would have added to the one officially allowed by the state. But much as the policy stemmed the population explosion, it created crisis of work force, as majority of the country’s population now are aging. The

had to succumb to pressure, after some of the provinces had started to amend the policy. The announcement came two years after the government started a gradual relaxation of the policy as a result of decline in worker population, and pockets of deviance particularly in the rural areas. There are reports of under reported female births, and authorities also allowed someone who is the only child in the family to have a second child. Concessions were also granted those whose child is a female to have a second child. But such persons are said to avoid the reporting of such second child if it happens to be another female child. The consequence is that there have been reports of gender imbalance in China. By the time the policy was relaxed this morning, over 30% of China’s population is above 50 years.

Going by the announcement by the communist party, the ruling party in China this morning, each family may now be entitled to two children officially.