China is a large country with an enormous population. “China has been one of the worlds most populated countries since second century A.D.when it had more than 60 million people , or one-forth of the worlds population, during Han Dynasty”(Latzko). Currently China stands at about 1.25 billion (Latzko). With so many people in one country it creates many problems. These problems include limited resources, limited healthcare, more pollution, more waste, and climate change. Chinese government took steps to try to control its overpopulation.
To control the population of China the government gave couples birth restrictions. These restrictions included limiting Chinese couples to only have one child also known as the “one-child policy”("Laogai Research Foundation"). The one-child policy came to effect in 1979 to control the overpopulation in China ("Laogai Research Foundation").This policy makes it impossible for a child to have siblings to interact with. It’s weird to think that majority of the current chinese generation will be an only child. Before any woman becomes pregnant she would have to apply for a birth permit, and after the birth they are required to undergo the IUD insertion ("Laogai Research Foundation"). IUD is the most effective birth control, it is inserted into the uterus and usually last up to five years. About eleven years ago the government tried meeting birth quotas by doing harsh things ("Laogai Research Foundation"). “Consequently, these officials began employing more authoritian measures to prevent, detect, and terminate unauthorized pregnancies, including the use of local informants to discover unauthorized pregnancies, forced late-term abortions , forced IUD insertion, forced sterilization, and detention of pregnant women or their family members, and the destruction of the homes of those who violated the policy”("Laogai Research Foundation"). Any woman that violated the population control policy could lose their job, be denied of child registry, lose their business, lose their drivers license , be refused for loans, be denied passport, and be expelled from community party("Laogai Research Foundation"). The one-child policy in China is something the government take seriously. The punishments for disobeying the policy is beyond harsh. Just by not following the birth control rules, citizens of China could be denied so many things that they would life.
Not only is couples faced with consequences but the child is too. Children with out household registry were often referred to as hei haizi or “black children”("Laogai Research Foundation"). These children are treated as a non- person, they don’t have access to most public services such as school, healthcare, and sometimes even employment("Laogai Research Foundation"). The Chinese government is sometimes lenient for some couples in rural areas or couples that are both only children , by allowing them to have a second child("Laogai Research Foundation"). The one child-policy may have seemed like a good idea to begin with for China but what effects will this policy have on the future?
The Chinese government created the one-child policy to fix a problem but it ended up creating its own. The Chinese elderly population increased tremendously over the years, resulting in too few children to care for the aging population(Kaneda 1-5). Life expectancy increased from 40.8 to 71.5 and increased to over 102 million elderly in 2005(Kaneda 1-5). With such a large elderly population chronic disease increased, disability, and Chinese health care overall cost. (Kaneda 1-5). About 80% of all deaths in China was due to chronic disease in 2005.(pbr)The Chinese took actions against chronic disease by setting up prevention programs(Kaneda 1-5). Long term health care for the elderly is very important to keep them as healthy as possible. Chinese government increased the number of elderly homes to accommodate the aging population (Kaneda 1-5). China plans to develop geriatric medical training at an undergraduate level so that more people will be trained to help the elderly with specific healthcare needs(Kaneda 1-5). The China population will continue to age as the years go on. Chinese government should continue to keep the elderly healthy and aware of diseases as the aging population increase.
In conclusion over population is never a good thing. Chinese government tried to control the issue while creating a new one. The new problem can be resolve with more educated people capable of caring for the millions elderly. With more resources , more healthcare, less pollution, and less waste countries may better be able to accommodate a larger population. Sometimes you have to look at yourself and figure out what you can do to make the world a better place.
citation
Cunningham, MaryAnn, and Willian Cunningham. Enviromental Science. 12. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 139-141. Print.
Kaneda, Toshiko. "China's Concern Over Population Aging and Health." Population Reference Bureau. (2006): 1-5. Web. 27 Sep. 2012.
<http://www.prb.org/Articles/2006/ChinasConcernOverPopulationAgingandHealth.asp&xgt;.
Latzko, Laura. "The Effects of Population Growth in China." eHow. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sep 2012.
http://www.ehow.com/about_5057763_effects-population-growth-china.html.
. "One Child Policy." Laogai Research Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sep 2012. <http://laogai.org/our_work/one-child-policy>.
You answered all of my questions in your writing.
ReplyDeleteReally great job!
20/20