by+Gao+Yuan

It has been four decades since the Chinese government began to promote family planning in the early 1970s， at the core of which it introduced the only-child policy as its basic state policy during the 1980s. Slogans such as “Only Child Is Best” could be found almost everywhere across the country， and it quickly became the only choice for most Chinese families.

Since the implementation of the policy， only very few have been allowed to have a second child. Therefore， many essentially equate family planning regulations to the“one child” policy.

As China moved forward with such policy， it faced tough problems such as imbalanced age demographics， labor shortages， and intense pressure on caring for the elderly. Calls for the allowance of a second child became louder and louder. In December 2013， the government loosened the policy to permit a second child to a couple if either the husband or wife is an only child.

Chinese Childbearing Policy

New Chinas early years coincided with the global baby boom in the wake of World War II. Furthermore， China adopted the Soviet Unions population theories and policies， which encouraged families to have many children.

However， the sudden drop in death rate and rising birth rate rocketed the countrys population： An average couple had an average of six or seven children in those days. During the 1960s， Chinas population reached 600 million， and every year it saw an average of 27 million births – an increase of 2.5 percent that exerted massive pressure on realms of economics， society， resources， and the environment. Consequently， the government began comprehensively promoting its family planning policy in the 1970s， and it became a basic state policy in 1982.

“The whole world began facing the same challenge at that time，” explains Zhai Zhenwu， vice president of the China Population Association. “Negative effects of rapid population growth attracted wide attention from the international community. In 1974， the United Nations held its First World Population Conference in Bucharest， Romania， urging the whole world to adopt strategies to slow down excessive population growth on the planet.”

According to Mao Qunan， spokesman and director of the Publicity Department of the State Family Planning Commission（SFPC）， China has greatly relieved massive pressure on resources and environment exerted by excessive population growth thanks to its accumulated reduction of 400 million births over the past 40 years.

“If not for the implementation of the family planning policy， the Chinese population could have topped 1.7 or 1.8 billion， and China would have had suffered from depletion of over 20 percent of its resources， including arable land， grain， forests， fresh water， and energy，” illustrates Mao. “Thanks to the policy， the available resources and environment largely meet the needs of development， and without it， Chinas economic and social development could not have reached where it is today.”

Not only has family planning profoundly changed Chinese attitudes towards marriage and procreation， but it has played a significant role in accelerating social development， guaranteeing and improving peoples livelihood， and upgrading peoples living standards. “Chinas practice of family planning has postponed the worlds population reaching 7 billion for five years，” claims Mao.

Aging Population

As well as contributing remarkably to domestic and global development， Chinas family planning policy has heralded in- creasingly complex issues.

Now that the first generation of only children is at parenting age， their parents are already nearing retirement age， forming a family pattern of 4+2+1： four elderly parents， a couple， and one child， which requires two adults to care for four parents as well as their child. Not only do they struggle to afford raising their child， but they are plagued by inability to look after their parents.

For centuries， family has been Chinas primary mode of providing for the elderly， and tradition has dictated that families“raise sons to support parents in their old age.” Today， the only child has become incapable and unavailable to continue such a tradition due to social development and change of family patterns. A young couple must take care of four retirees， making it more difficult for one or even two breadwinners to support a family of seven.

China met the UN standards for an aging society in 2000. A recent survey showed that by the end of 2013， 202 million Chinese citizens were aged 60 and above， accounting for 14.9 percent of the countrys total population， of which 131 million were older than 65， making up 9.7 percent of the total. As predicted by the UN， by 2020， one out of four global senior citizens will be Chinese.

Still， the family planning campaign is believed to have caused increasingly glaring problems such as a gender imbalance， millions of childless families after losing one， and a shortage of labor.

Second Child Questions

The policy of allowing a couple with either parent being the only child to have a second child was defined at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee on November 15， 2013， marking a historic transition from the one-child policy that has been strictly carried out for over 30 years. The move marks a major readjustment by the Chinese government on policies related to population control to fit current economic and social development.

Zhang Yingying， a Beijing saleswoman， just gave birth to her second child. “Id always dreamed of having another baby，” she grinned. “Every family seems to have only one child， who gets all the attention from their parents and grandparents. The ‘little emperor thus easily becomes self-centered and doesnt learn how to care for others. A sibling can offer a chance to learn tolerance， sacrifice and helping others. Parents cannot guide them through everything， so its important for a child to enjoy sibling affection.”

Not every potential mother is so excit- ed. “Its too costly to raise a child in terms of time， energy and money，” declares Judy， who is considering going back to college to earn a doctorate degree. “Women also want to have time and a career of their own.”

More than a year has passed since the“second child policy” was put in place. According to official predictions， 11 million Chinese couples are affected. After readjustment of the policy， 2 million more babies are expected to be born every year. However， the Chinese public didnt respond as actively as expected to the idea of having a second child. Latest statistics reveal that by December 2014， 1.069 million couples out of 11 million potential couples applied to have a second child， and only 470，000 couples gave birth to their second – considerably fewer than the official prediction.

“Even so， its still early to declare that the public has given the second-child policy the cold shoulder，” remarks Zhao Yanpei， an official from the Bureau of Inspection and Supervision under the National Health and Family Planning Commission （NHFPC）. It usually takes some time for a new policy to make an effect. The great change will not manifest obviously on the overall fertility levels until the second or third year. Also， the target demographic is mostly found in urban areas， where philosophies about procreation are changing. Young couples are often troubled by the cost of bearing and raising a child or concentrating on career aspirations.

“It usually takes three to five years， or maybe more to increase birth rates，” notes Yang Wenzhuang， director of the Department of Community Family Planning under the NHFPC. “The numbers should be expected because the policy has just landed. It will take some time for potential couples to reconsider a slightly larger family portrait.”