On Oct. 29, the Communist Party of China announced that it would abolish its policy restricting families to have one child and enact a two-child policy instead. On Nov. 2, they also announced that the policy change would take effect in March 2016 when the National People’s Congress could ratify it.
Dr. Terry Smith, chair of the Behavioral Science department and the director of the Social Work program, said that China enacted the one-child policy because of overpopulation.
“It was initiated in 1979 for the purpose of curbing a surging population,” Smith said. “(China was) concerned about the demands on limited resources.”
Smith said that the one-child policy caused China’s skewed gender ratio.
“In China, you now have 115 males for every 100 females,” Smith said. “Because couples were limited to one child, it ended up leading to an increase in selective abortion. Because of this sex imbalance, some think that it may have triggered the trafficking of women to serve as brides.”
According to The Guardian, China has a population of 1.3 billion people, and it is forecasted that by 2050, 440 million of those people would be over 60 years old. Last year, the number of working-age people (15-59 years old) fell by 3.71 million people and is expected to continue to fall.
According to Smith, the policy switch is due to the decrease in the working-age population.
“Part of the reason for having the policy in the first place was economics and part of the rescinding of the policy was because of economics,” Smith said. “The working-age population is a concern and they think they need younger workers moving into the workplace.”
According to Reuters, 90 million families qualify to have two children, which would raise the population of China to 1.45 billion people by 2030. However, after the March 2016 implementation, the policy may not immediately resolve the aging population issue.
According to Bloomberg Business, the average Chinese family spends 40 percent of its income on raising a child (including food, education, nannies and savings) compared to the 16 percent spent by American families.
Junior and China-native Cloris Huang said that she likes the new policy but many families may not be able to afford having another child.
“It is a good policy that can save a lot of children, but it can also bring some issues,” Huang said. “There are also some poor places with not enough education resources.”
Junior Maureen Li said that she also likes the shift but the new policy could lead to conflicts within families and essentially not fulfill its intended purpose.
“The first time I heard it, I felt so excited,” Li said. “When you turn 18 years old in China, you consider the property distribution of your family. If you have a younger brother or sister, you will only get half of the property. If the parents consider if they want a second baby, they might worry about family conflict and decide they would not have the second baby.”
Although the long-term effects of this policy update remain to be seen, for now Chinese families can enjoy the option of expanding.
