DirtSnap asked:
I have heard that china has certain laws in place for reproducting these days, as they are overpopulated. Is this true? and what are the laws?
March 4, 2005
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I have heard that china has certain laws in place for reproducting these days, as they are overpopulated. Is this true? and what are the laws?
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It is called the one-child policy.
Basically they fine their citizens for having more than one child.
The wikipedia article has alot of information about how it works and what various groups think about it.
Comment by Sheldon — March 5, 2005 @ 11:33 am
They’re not laws so much than they are incentives. China has government policies in place that encourage couples to birth only one child, and preferably a male child. Women who have more than the state sanctioned number of births have money and resources withheld that make it difficult to feed themselves and their families.
Comment by David B — March 5, 2005 @ 2:52 pm
People are allowed to have only one child. If they have more than one, they are fined. The person before me says that the policy also asks for preferably a male child. This is wrong. It is only the more traditional people that still perfer to have male children and will try to find out the gender of their fetuses and selectively abort. More often, these kinds of people will pay the fine to have more children if the first child is a girl. These days though, people are much more open. The new generation doesn’t practice this and welcome either a girl or a boy.
Comment by jxdy11 — March 7, 2005 @ 12:03 am
Yes, there are laws currently in place though China has recently stated that they are considering changes in the law.
China has the highest population of any country on Earth, but actually their population density is one of the lowest in Asia.
The policy, commonly referred to as the “One Child” policy, is much more complicated than the name suggests.
It does not apply to the ethnic minorities in China, but to the Han who make up most of the population.
You must apply for a permit to have a child, and then you are given a timeframe. If your child is not born during that period, you have to start the process over again.
In rural areas, if your first born is a girl you are allowed to have a second child in the future.
If both of the parents were only children, they are allowed to have two children whether those children are male or female.
Having more children, or without a permit, is punishable. Usually the punishment involves fines, but there have been cases where women were forced to have abortions (sometimes late in the pregnancy), where babies have been left to die.
Because of a cultural preference for boys, girls are sometimes abandoned. Usually they are left in safe places where they will be found and placed in an orphanage, where they will hopefully be adopted.
The Chinese government is now offering incentives for having/keeping female children. This is because of side effects of the policy that they did not foresee-there is a great difference in the ratio of males to females in China. Crimes such as kidnapping and/or baby selling are on the rise, rape and prostitution are also on the rise. This is why the government is considering changes in the law as well.
Some people have multiple children as a “status” symbol, as it reflects their wealth that they are able to pay the high fines. Whether that is widespread or not, I do not know-but I doubt it.
The law was put into place with good intentions, I believe, but the result has not been what they had anticipated. I pray that the changes will allow the Chinese citizens more freedom in raising their families, and that it will combat the need for thousands of orphanages and reduce the crime.
Comment by BraxOwl — March 7, 2005 @ 9:18 am
Yes there are.
One child per couple is allowed. If the couple wants a better child (w/out birth defects, mental problems, boy/girl, etc.) They’ll leave their child at an orphanage. I went to an orphanage in Xi’an a couple of months ago, and there were soo many toddlers and babies who had been abandonded because of cleft lips, missing limbs, etc.
Families living on a farm, or in the rual areas where extra help is needed can have more than one child if the firstborn isnt a male.
Hope this helped :)
Comment by Samantha P — March 9, 2005 @ 9:44 am