China's One Child Policy

7 Pages 1658 Words

an attempt to attack the widespread poverty and improve the overall quality of life “the Chinese government introduced a national family planning program that promoted a policy of later birth, longer spacing, and fewer births” (Peng 25).This policy became known today as the one-child policy. Through the one-child policy China has enacted the most aggressive population policy in the world.
Through the one-child policy the government has set a standard for married couples to follow in assisting with the reduction of births. For one the government encourages later marriages “the earliest age for marriage was set at 25 for males and 23 for females; a two-child norm was sometimes granted; and a birth interval of at least four years was highly recommended” (Peng 54). Rewards are given to those couples who sign a pledge agreeing to have only one child. Employers and neighborhood committees enforced guidelines. Contraceptive use is mandatory and all pregnancies must be authorized.
“Couples wishing to become parents must first apply for state permission, then they must have the child at a strictly specified time” (Bowles). “Str...