Chinese Communist Party bigwigs had a big meeting last week in Beijing. After all was said and done, they promised to allow the free market to play a greater role and to give farmers more property rights over their land. They said they would liberalize interest rates, currency convertibility, and overseas investment. They are going to abolish “re-education through labour” camps, which currently hold tens of thousands of inmates. And yes, they’re going to relax the country’s draconian one-child policy.
All of these reforms are welcome, but the relaxing of reproductive restrictions especially so. The one-child policy has caused immeasurable misery. Couples who break the rules face fines, or lose their property or their jobs. In some cases, women have been coerced into having abortions, and sex-selective abortions have led to a massive gender imbalance. By the year 2050, over a quarter of China’s population will be over the age of 65. It is to address these problems that couples will soon be allowed to have two kids, as long as at least one of the parents is an only child.
The fact that some people claim the right to tell some other people how many children they can have is just incredible to me. How dare they? What unbelievable gall! And all for what? To fight overpopulation, a nonexistent problem. As if more people just meant more mouths to feed, and not also more hands to work and more brains to solve problems. As if population growth rates did not slow with increasing wealth.
The one-child policy is and always has been an abomination, an affront to basic human rights. I look forward to the day when it is completely scrapped. In the meantime, relaxing it is at least a step in the right direction.
The fact that some people claim the right to tell some other people how many children they can have is just incredible to me. How dare they? What unbelievable gall! And all for what? To fight overpopulation, a nonexistent problem. As if more people just meant more mouths to feed, and not also more hands to work and more brains to solve problems. As if population growth rates did not slow with increasing wealth.
The one-child policy is and always has been an abomination, an affront to basic human rights. I look forward to the day when it is completely scrapped. In the meantime, relaxing it is at least a step in the right direction.
