Geography Topic 1 Case Study: China (Anti Natalist Policy)
Why did China introduce the one child policy?
-After China was invaded by Japan in World War II, the government encouraged high birth rates as it would mean a stronger army
-However mass famines ensued, causing 30 million people to die between the 60's and 70's due to crippling cultural policies
-Massive pressure on food and resources
How is the China one child policy enforced?
- Heavy taxes for people who have more than one child
-Forced abortions
-Rewarding families with one child with government funding
-Slogans and posters
What were the advantages of the policy?
Dramatically dropped birth rates
33 to 1000 people to 12.5 per 1000 people
Lower population growth
China was able to prevent 400 million births
Help curb poverty
By reducing the amount of children, the government can concentrate more funding on the rural population
What were the disadvantages of the policies?
-Tradition kills babies
Due to a traditional liking for boys, many baby girls have been abandoned or aborted. Its reported that 90% of foeutues abortd were female
-Little emperors
Due to a single boy in the family, they may get spoiled due to overindulgence by parents resulting in a generation that possess poor communication and cooperation skills
-Gender distortion
Due to traditional preference, the population pyramid has warped dramatically with boys outnumbering girls by 60 million
-Ageing Population
Due to lower birth rates, there has been an increase in the number of elderly people, resulting in China heading towards an ageing population