Introduction The aim of this study is to examine how the China’s birth control measures have affected its society in respect of family structures, education and other aspects in 1990 and beyond. Chinese rulers in their anxiety to accomplish their avowed objective of achieving higher per capita income, had announced in their own authoritarian style the mandatory one child norm way back in 1979/80. Case for one-child policy.
In an open letter to the members of Communist Party and Chinese Communist Youth League on Controlling Population Growth, on September 25, 1980 , Central Committee of the Chinese Party justified the need for one-child fertility policy on the ground that population growth created scarcity in availability of food, clothing, housing, transportation, education opportunities, medical care, and employment as unchecked population growth increased consumption leaving reduced or nil capital accumulation and investment.
And that it could result in poor standard of living, lesser per capita income, faster depletion of natural resources besides energy, water, and forests, worsened environmental pollution. The idea behind this state birth planning rather than voluntary family planning was that scientific socialism should realise not only economic production but also social reproduction. Enforcement In late 1970s, China had actually started experimenting on one-child policy before formal implementation in early 1980s. Even then the rural families showed strong resistance and were bent upon having two children and a son.
Hence urban areas only came under the focus of the implementation. For rural areas the exceptions were given for two children in cases of couples having one girl. By 1990s, the persuasion was not very strong for rural areas for one child. For urban areas too, if the couples (both spouses) are single children, they are allowed to have two children. We can say the sense of emergency is fading by the turn of the millennium, though results of the country’s 2000 census indicate an emergence of a crisis called ‘fourth peak’ by 2009-2014 which may call for another emergency.
Human costs The birth planning forces women to resort to practice contraception through IUDs or sterilization and in case of contraceptive failures they have to undergo mandatory abortions exposing themselves to adverse medical side effects due to unsuitable IUDs and possible messed up surgeries. As these are done by persuasion, the emotional costs also are very high. Preference to sons and limitations on number of children in rural areas renders baby girls to be aborted, concealed and abandoned, adopted out and allowed to die.
More over such children born secretly cannot be registered as citizens thus depriving them of education, health and other benefits. A brief account of modus operandi A Woman should apply to her work unit for age certificate on her reaching the age of 24 to become pregnant. She has to produce it before the her residence committee which then would grant her documentary permission to become pregnant. The document would entitle her to avail of free of prenatal care failing which she would have to purchase the services of prenatal medical care at market prices.
But of late this requirement is being waived in some areas by allowing couples to choose their first child whenever they desired without the woman having to register as ‘within-the-plan’ as described above. , .. A woman should have an IUD inserted within three to six months of delivering the first child when she should take an IUD and One-child certificate on her own failing which birth planning worker will remind her about the IUD. Her both residential unit and work unit will monitor her contraceptive practice.
Women sensitive to IUD and affected by bleeding and any other side effects are allowed take pills instead. The woman is allowed to continue with IUD for the rest of her fertile life. She also has the choice of undergoing sterilisation or let her husband undergo a vasectomy and cost of these procedures are subsidised by the financial incentives and rest periods for early sterilisations. A pregnancy due to failed contraception or a pregnancy out-of-plan are expected to be aborted on the concerned woman’s own initiative failing which she would be persuaded to undergo an abortion (shuofu).
Even after that social pressure by birth-planning officials, community leaders would be exerted on her and if she still insists on having the child, her parents will be fined and all benefits given for one-child benefits to parents will be revoked. The child so born also will not have educational benefits. At the same time pregnancies occurring outside the country when the Chinese couple are abroad, they are not fined on return for the reason the Government encourages return to the country. But when they become pregnant before leaving the country, they are fined.
Sterilisation is mandatory for one of the couple after they have a second child. But there is resistance to sterilisation amongst women especially from rural areas… The birth planning officials however insist on sterilisation because of its effectiveness as a programme and its permanent impact on limiting the control and easy surveillance.
The birth planning officials exercise some discretion in allowing couples to continue with contraception unless they suspect the couple will have a third child. This relaxed mood is widespread through out China in late 1990s. , . Till now, birth planning relied on propaganda-and –education approach.
In the late 1990s, this nation-cantered approach to population control changed to client-cantered-approach respecting the individual’s health and choice. The birth planning involve first fixation of number of birth control operation to be performed, number of IUD insertion to be achieved, number of abortions of out-of-plan pregnancies, number of sterilisations to be performed on couples already having two children. With these targets, individuals are targeted and approached to comply with the respective requirements and subjected to social pressure until they comply.
The numbers mentioned above are actually quotas to the birth planning officials as targets to be achieved. In order to achieve them, social pressure is exerted on the obstinate individuals by first counselling an individual in birth planning clinic. If this does not produce the desired result, the birth planning worker would visit the individual at her home and persuade her, her husband and in-laws to comply with her respective requirement. If it still doesn’t work out, he would bring community citizens and leaders to the individual’s house.
In the case of non-compliance, the individual is approached more and more such citizens and leaders and reminded of her moral and legal obligations to obey. She is not only told of the benefits that would accrue to her but also the penalties such as fines, withdrawal of previously granted benefits for an existing single child. Besides the individual is apprised of the harmful effects on community because of her non-compliance. These continuous pressures on a prospective individual become very forceful and make her comply ultimately.