Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Blog #4:China Sticking With One-Child Policy

This article demonstrates the use of the precautionary principal within the government of China. The topic considers the enforcement of the ‘One Child Policy’ to China’s population. The following blog post will explain how the precautionary principal was used, and critique the way it was put into effect.

Studies have shown that that the population of China was growing by up to 17 million people a year. To ensure stable and balanced population growth the ‘one-child-per-family’ plan has been put into action. “Given such a large population base, there would be major fluctuations in population growth if we abandoned the one-child rule now…it would cause serious problems and add extra pressure on social and economic development.” (Zhang Weiqing, minister of the National Population and Family Planning Commission 2008) It is not certain that population growth is the direct cause of pressures on social and economic development however the one-child-per family policy has been in effect for the last three decades to assure control over unwanted volatility to the birthrate.

The policy mentioned above will in fact prevent an increase in the birthrate of China, however there are negative consequences to the precautionary measure. The policy results in an excess of boys. Most families are keen on having a boy to carry on the family name, and to aid in financial support. As a result, the one-child-per-family policy has been linked to female infanticide, forced abortions, and selective abortion of female fetuses. Not only are these practices un-safe, they also demonstrate great gender inequality in the population of China. If there is not a mutual respect and desire for both male and female children, China will have an unstable population in the future, and male chauvinist population in the present.

In conclusion, the one-child-per-family policy will not only result in the perilous medical procedures to women and children, but also to the lack of gender equality in the population of China. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure equality and safety to the nation; therefore the precautionary principal should be kept but re-examined to better society as a whole.

References:

(2009) China Sticking With One-Child Policy, Jim Yardley. The New York Times, October 19th, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/world/asia/11china.html&OQ=_rQ3D1&OP=68285ad4Q2FimL-i5GnweGG1ZiZQ25Q25ziQ25Q2AiUUimGeQ2F5ilwfliUUnVfQ7ElFV1YQ2F


2 comments:

  1. This is a difficult problem to find a suitable solution to because all your points are valid in stating that there is gender inequality among children and a breach of rights for woman. But without the one child policy the population would have risen to even more unmanageable levels in the present day. So both solutions have their pros and cons so I agree with your conclusion that the policy needs to be reviewed to try and keep everyone happy.

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  2. It's hard to believe how there's even such a term for the killing of girl babies. It's a big issue that clearly the children have no control over. There are other solutions to female infanticide to help control overpopulation that are more reasonable. Anyways, good job on the blog. It was really to the point and didn't drag on too long.

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