China's one child policy

[DrPizza]

A decreasing human population, stabilizing at a level lower than the current world population would solve (or greatly contribute to) a lot of environmental problems. It would, in the short term (several decades) create a lot of economic problems with policies that are based on population growth. As much a violation of individual rights that such a policy seems to be, will it always be necessarily worse than looking out for the interests of all the humans who live on this planet?

 

[Blanky]

I don't think any country has it right due to various reasons. Most people should agree on the fact that any government that allows its citizens to have unlimited kids should also very strongly encourage those citizens take care of their kids. Otherwise, they are creating kids and putting burden directly on the state.

 

[GoPackGo]

Prostitutes in China will be able to charge big money just for a sniff.

 

[tygeezy]

My girlfriends family is from china. She is the third child and was an illegal one. Her brother has two children over there, all of her uncles have multiple children. If you have more than one child, you pay a somewhat large fine, and then you are on your way.

 

[shira]

I have Chinese friends that come from large families. The way it works is that if you have one child the government provides a lot of assistance. If you have more they not only provide zero assistance for the additional children but they cut off the assistance to the first one.

Therefore only the rich have more than one kid.

My wife immigrated from China this past March. China controls the number of children a couple has through the hukou system (= household registration system). If a couple has a second child, the government will not add the child to the family's hukou book. Without a hukou, it's very difficult for the child to attend school or to get a higher education, and the child cannot receive any public services. Even if the family has a lot of money, life for the child will be VERY difficult without a hukou. But even if a couple violates the one-child policy, their FIRST child retains their hukou, and there's no problem for that child.

Note, however, that there are several exceptions to (or ways around) the one-child policy:

• If a woman gives birth to twins (or triplets, etc), all of the children receive a hukou.
• If at least one of the spouses is not Han Chinese (the 90%-majority ethnic group in China), then there's no limit on the number of children they can have.
• Even if both of the spouses are Han Chinese, if each of the spouses is an only-child, the couple is allowed to have two children.
• If a Han Chinese marries a non-Chinese person, there's no limit on the number of Children.
• If a child is born abroad to a Han couple, the child will be given a hukou when the child is brought back to China, regardless of how many children the couple already has.
• Finally, China is very famous for its corruption A family with enough money (I think the going rate if about $5000) can always bribe a government official to provide a hukou for an extra child. During my eight trips to China, I saw - at Chinese airports - many Han couples with two children.