One-child policy

Government sign in Tang Shan:
"For a prosperous, powerful nation and a happy family, please use birth planning."

The one-child policy (or family planning policy) is a policy introduced in the People's Republic of China in the year 1979. Mao had thought that a bigger population resulted in a stronger country, but of course they faced a lot more problems. China had went above carrying capacity and there was not enough resources for everyone. In 1979, the policy was introduced. After the Second World War, the Chinese population grew quickly. The policy was introduced to control population growth and says that Chinese families should only have one child. There are several exceptions to this rule.

If a couple wants to have more than one child, they must pay money to the government. In some places in China, couples were able to get a permit so they would not have to pay the fee. Because most families would not be able to afford the fee, women were often forced to have an abortion.There were severe punishments for those who had a second child. However, if the first child were to be a female, the couple can try to have a second child, in hopes for a male child. Many poor people in China had to back 'Backstreet Abortions' which were very dangerous!

Since it was started in 1979, the policy has prevented 400 million births from happening. About 36% of the Chinese population is affected by the rule. The policy does not apply in some areas, such as Hong Kong, Macau or Tibet.

In 2015, it was decided that the one-child policy was to be removed, and instead allowed couples to have two children for the first time in thirty years. The law was enforced on January 1st 2016.