30 years since it was first introduced, the one-child policy is finally challenged in China. The new political leaders think the government’s involvement in family planning issues is no longer necessary, but their decision raises concerns among the population.
Based on a recent report published by NBC News, China could finally do away with the policy that prevents families from having more than one child. The future of the one-child policy is unclear for the moment as political leaders don’t know whether they should completely remove it or replaced it with a two-child policy, instead.
The news that families could soon make family planning decisions on their own was well-received by great part of the population. The majority of the respondents declared that they think the replacement of the law is a positive change for the Chinese government. However, they all admitted that they plan to have only one child because the current economic situation does not allow them to raise more than one baby.
On the other hand, there are those who claim that the introduction of the two-child policy or, even worse, its complete cancellation could have major consequences on the demographic evolution of the country. In their opinion, the population is still too big for families to be able to have more than one child. Chen Chi, a 22-year-old student in Beijing, is a supporter of the one-child policy and thinks its removal could lead to abnormal population growths, not to mention, high urban-rural imbalances. He, too, stated that he will only have one baby for economic reasons.
Even though the announcement gave birth to numerous discussions in relation to the one-child policy, political analysts think there are few chances for more relaxed rules to be adopted in the following period. The Communist Party ruling China is consensus-driven; therefore, they will need a long period of time until they can finally modify the law. According to them, the two-child policy could be enacted in 2015, whereas all birth limits could be eliminated in 2020.
