A.

MORRISON
Krakow, March 2011

Can China’s one-child policy be considered

passive genocide in the long-term?

A policy which has affected the lives of almost one quarter of the world’s
population was introduced in 1978 (in force from 1979); a policy which is
increasingly influencing the lives of the entire planet: China’s one-child
policy. It was intended at introduction as a short-term measure in order to
encourage a VOLUNTARY, small-family culture. The idea to introduce this
policy had evolved from a previous (1970-1979), largely VOLUNTARY
policy: “late, long, few”, that had been very successful in decreasing the
total fertility rate (from 5.5 to 2.7 - 51% decrease) by encouraging later
childbirth, longer gaps between children, and fewer children.

The new, one-child policy introduced was NOT VOLUNTARY. It is enforced

by a set of regulations, held in force by the State Family Planning Bureau
and Family Planning Committees, which restrict the size of Chinese
families, the possibility to marry (especially at an older age), and the
spacing between children (in the exceptions where two or even more
children are allowed). These regulations are executed by a system of
rewards and penalties; the rewards being financial incentives for
compliance, and the penalties, varying greatly from forced abortion,
sterilization, the murder of babies, loss of employment, substantial fines
and confiscation or destruction of property and belongings.

Generally, the one-child rule is most strictly implemented in the urban

areas, whereas rural areas (56% of China’s population in 2009 2) are often
treated as one of the exceptions, and in many urban areas, couples
receive permission for a second child after five years, although in some,
permission is only granted if the first child is a girl1. Other exceptions may
include families with a disabled only child3, families where both parents
work in high-risk jobs (such a mining) and families where both parents are
from one-child families. Some ethnic minority societies are also exempt
from the regulation are and allowed even three or four children.

The results of this drastic policy have severe implications on China’s

population. During the years 1979 to the present day, the fertility rate
dropped from 2.7 until an almost steady rate of 1.8 (33% decrease). So
the policy has in some way been successful in reducing the fertility rate
(an approximate 400 mln births prevented), even though China’s aim in
1979 for the year 2000 was 1.3. This result has come from often
extremely brutal methods executed officially and unofficially on born and
unborn children, and their parents.
Many women are being forced (80%) by family-planning workers to
undergo long-term contraceptive (78% of the contraceptive methods used
since the 1980’s is long-term), namely intrauterine devices and
STERALIZATION. If an unapproved pregnancy occurs, many local
governments still demand abortions – these abortions have been reported
to have taken place all the way up to the ninth month and even killing the
child by saline solution injection in the birth canal or even directly after
birth.

Source: http://leenks.com/link341051.html

The most drastic impact on China’s population is therapidly increased

ratio between the number of male and female children (see table 1.1
below). Unfortunately, there is still a strong preference of sons over
daughters in China. There are various reasons for this, including a long
tradition of son preference, especially to support them in their old age.
According to tradition, as a Hindu saying nicely puts it, “Raising a daughter
is like watering your neighbours’ garden”. In a society in which the family
line passes through the son, the son is supposed to look after his parents
in old age. Also, rural couples want sons to help them work on the farms;
urban couples want an heir.

Table 1.1: Number of males to 100 females compared to the natural male to female ratio

Pic 1: “The value of daughters.” Source: http://leenks.com/link341051.html

As can be seen in the table above, the male to female ratio for the ages 0-
5 has been drastically increasing since the mid 1980’s; as accessalility to
ultrasound grew, the number of sex-selected abortions increased. We can
see that the male to female ratio in the ages 0-5 increased rapidly from
1985 (at a ratio of 107:100) to 2005 (123:100), compared to the natural
ratio is defined at 103-106:100. In some rural areas, the ratio is as high as
275:100 - almost 3 boys born to every girl! Although sex-selective
abortions were made illegal in 1995, it is obvious that they are still
happening on a huge scale. These abortions are not the only gendercidal
consequences of the one-child policy combined with the mind set of son
preference and developing technology, but also female infanticide and
acts of girl child abandonment. The value of a little girls’ life is often close
to nothing; the government unfortunately oftens shows support towards
this approach through regulations or behaviour of government officials.
However, this drastic increase in the male to female ratio has other
reprocations for the Chinese population.

Pic 2: “Too many men wanting the same…” Source: http://leenks.com/link341051.html

There are presently around 20 mln young males unable to find a female
partner; it is approximated that by 2020, there will be 30-40 mln males
aged 0-19 who will be unable to marry. This disproportion has already
resulted in an increased level of crime, mental health problems and
socially disruptive behavior amongst men, the kidnapping and trafficking
of women (within China and internationally) for marriage or as sex
workers, which in turn has resulted in a greater widespread of sexually
transmitted diseases.
 Pic 3: “No comments” Source: http://leenks.com/link341051.html

Interesting the male to female ratio changes depending on which child is

in question; this is tightly tied with the son preference that rises drastically
at the second or later births, as can be seen in the graph below. This effect
actually has the largest impact on the gender difference ratio in China. It is
possible to observe a direct connection between the drastic increase of
the male to female ratio and the areas where there are exceptions to the
one-child policy.

Source: http://www.economist.com/node/15636231?story_id=15636231

Other impacts of China’s one-child policy are the mass emigration of

Chinese men in search of wives, or couples fleeing to escape the
consequences of having ‘unauthorized’ children. Mixed marriages are
becoming more and more common, but often cause tension in a previously
homogenous society, which often results in hostility towards the children
from such marriages. Also, women who become pregnant without
permission and do not want to undergo an abortion, often do not seek any
prenatal care and give birth at home; this is one of the factors that
increases the mortality during childbirth. Another indirect effect of the
policy which also adds to this is the increased number of female suicides;
young mothers who cannot live with themselves after killing or aborting
their child.

The policy also has a growing economical impact of China – not only are
the dowries decreasing and the prices to be paid for brides increasing, but
also the national savings have greatly increased, as the greater the need
to secure a wife and therefore a future for their only male child, the more
money is being saved and China’s governments push to increase
consumption is failing. Another serious economic effect is known as the
4:2:1 phenomenon. This phenomenon is that of a one-child couple
supporting their parents. This means that two people should support a
family of seven. If they are not able to do this (which more often than not
is the case) the parents (usually the wife’s parents) are left to rely on
pensions or state welfare. For this reason, in 2009, the government
introduced the exception from the one-child policy for couples who are
both from one-child families.

Another exception to the policy, as mentioned above, are ethnical

minorities. The fact that the ethnical minorities have the right to
propagate twice as much as the majority of China’s population, could, in
the long-run, result in the start of a sub-divided China. Finally, another
worry that China must consider, is what will the future be if a generation of
spoiled one-family children who have not developed the social skills they
would bave developed had they had syblings, children who require a lot of
attention and reassurance.

It is clear from all the facts described above that the implementation and
maintenance of China’s one-child policy is resulting in the violation of
many fundamental human rights, but it is also gradually leading to a
complete restrucuring of the Chinese population and the destruction of the
nation, and a constant decrease in the number of female births that could
be argued as passive gendercide.

Notes:
1
This fact in itself shows the governments support of the tradition of son
preference.
2
In 1979 the rural population was 81%
3
China has been known for heavy handed eugenics policies as part of its
population planning policies. However, the government seems to be
backing away from such policies; in 2003 China revised its marriage
registration regulations, lifting the requirement for couples to submit
results from pre-marital physical or genetic examinations before they
could receive a marriage license; in 2008, China ratified UN Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
REFERENCES:
http://databank.worldbank.org
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMhpr051833
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4OWJlyaHt0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-child_policy#cite_note-66
http://www.economist.com/node/15636231?story_id=15636231
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2009/10/28/f-rfa-germain.html
http://www.sinodaily.com/reports/Deutsche_Bank_China_Pensions_Face_Cri
sis.html
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=5457