From reading the letters from our Chinese correspondents, I have become more curious about the one child rule. Qu Meihui (Mandy), was one of the people that started my curiosity on the topic. She mentioned that she was an only child, and that her parents could not afford to have more children than one. I found this odd because, in America, we do not have to pay extra money to the government if we have more children.
I have researched the topic and learned many different things about it. On CNN, I learned that couples can have two children if one of the parents is an only child. Critics say this policy hurts the elderly in China because they typically rely on their children for support. Also, they say it constrains economic growth as the working-age population begins to decline.
According to Newsweek, the one-child policy has prevented over 400 million births. It started with the birth of the People's Republic of China in 1949. At this time officials counted five hundred and forty two million residents in China, which is slightly larger than the U.S. whose population was numbered at one hundred and forty nine million. In 1979, three years after Mao's death, the government instituted the one-child rule to curb China's population, which had ballooned to 975 million.
It's strange that there are certain exceptions to the rule, but so many more restrictions. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI think that the Chinese goverment should reconsider if the work force is declining. Although China is supposed to be overpopulated so this could also be means of lowering this population. Overall good job yo!
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