China's Method of Population Control

Chinas method of population control
China has the highest population in the world, with the population of 1.5billion people. The Chinese government had used many ways to control the situation, such as:
  * One child per family- China started this in 1979; citizens that had more than one were to be taxed up to 50% of their income, or be punished by loss of employment or other benefits.
  * Unplanned pregnancies terminated- Pregnancies without proper authorisation or unplanned pregnancies were to be terminated.
  * Birth-quota system- In 1980 the birth-quota system was set to monitor population growth. The government set goals for each region where local officials were responsible to make sure the population does not go over the target goal.
  * Birth control- The Chinese government had to include birth control programs and economic changes to control rising of the population.
  * Sterilization- In the early ‘80’s sterilization targets were established and made compulsory for people with two children.

However the rules established caused problems. Local officials have changed their reports to avoid punishments; consequently this led to underreporting the population up to 25%. Chinese citizens have violently demonstrated due to the “one child per family” rule. In addition to, the cultural preferences of having a son has led to female infanticide; as a result the Chinese government have had to include the “daughter only household” rule, which allows the cultural couples which have a daughter first allowed to have another child.

Even though Chinas attempts to control population had caused problems I think overall China have had a successful attempt. Over the past 50years China has raised the standards of living by keeping the population controlled. Coverage in tap water has increased an impressive 10% in the last fifteen years. Furthermore, coverage on natural gas has increased from 16% to 73%. Also there was an increase in the average life expectancy...