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BY EMOKE BEBIAK
ANCHOR JENNIFER MECKLES
You're watching multisource world video news analysis from Newsy.
One might not be the lucky number for China, after all. The Chinese census results revealed on Thursday show some alarming trends that appear to be rooted in the country’s one-child policy.
Southwest Florida’s ABC affiliate WZVN points out one of the main findings...
“The country’s population is aging rapidly. The new census showed a sharp drop in the number of young people in China with those under age 14 now accounting for roughly 16 percent of the country’s more than one billion people.”
The Telegraph observes this puts a strain on young people.
“In the country's one-child families, many children feel increasingly trapped by the responsibility of each caring for an ‘upside-down pyramid’ of two parents and four grandparents.”
The one-child policy was introduced in 1978 in response to a huge population increase, which was in fact urged by Mao Zedong. Mao thought a populous China could save the nation in case of a nuclear war with the USSR. The policy was needed to keep the country sustainable.
The Chinese government has said they don’t plan to ease restrictions. Fox News predicts the effects of the policy will be felt in the global economy...
“There will shortly not be enough young people joining the workforce to fill all those factories pumping out goods for the world. The impact is being felt already, with workers pushing for increased wages as they realize they are more in demand.”
While urban families are limited to one child, rural families are allowed a second. Even with this exception, the Hindustan Times notes the impact of the law has been massive.
“China’s family planning policy … prevented about 400 million births since 1980.”
Euronews reports even though the policy might be overturned eventually, that still wouldn’t necessarily mean more children.
Woman: “I can’t really say whether the government should stop the one-child policy or not. But for myself, I’m determined to have only one child. I couldn’t raise too many children.”
Man: “If they stop the policy now, I don’t think most people would want two or three children, so I don’t think it is much effect any more.”
The other alarming trend the census unveiled is the uneven gender ratio. In traditional Chinese culture, boys are preferred to girls, which leads to the abortion of females, especially if families can have only one child. The Guardian warns,
“[By 2020,] it has been predicted that 30 million Chinese males will not be able to find wives, with unpredictable social consequences.”
Other changes include urbanization: more than half of the population now lives in cities. The government needed 4 million census workers to tally up the country. And what’s final count? 1.34 billion.
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