In 1979, China acquired the famously controversial one-child policy, as reported by TIME Magazine. Every family in China was only allowed to have one child. However, there was a catch: a family could have a second child if their first was a girl. If a family were to break the policy, they faced serious consequences: a fine much higher than the family’s total income or the mother would be forced to abort the child if the family could not pay. The reasoning behind the law was the fear of an overpopulated country, which in turn would most likely lead to famine. In 1955 Chinese officials tried to promote the use of birth control because the population was skyrocketing. The country was quickly running out of food by 1962. Thus, the one-child policy was put into effect and has been that way ever since.
Until now.
This past October the news broke that China would do away with the original policy, allowing families to have two children. I find this a little strange because China currently has the world’s largest population at 1.4 billion people. The decision takes me by surprise, but also makes me happy. On one hand, I feel families should be able to have as many children as they’d like, but I do not know what the country will do about the expanding population. I can foresee many problems. Where are all of these people going to live? Will new schools have to be built? How will people drive around, with so many vehicles on the road? I feel like Switzerland because I can understand the pros and cons. Yes, a family should be able to decide how many children they will have. But how will the country handle all of these new people? Even though the new maximum is now two children, you can’t deny that China is going to end up with more people than they know what to do with. Many would argue there are already too many people living there already.
The main benefit from the new law is that the economy will prosper. The more people live in China, the more money will be spent. However, just because families are now allowed to have two children does not mean that every family will take advantage of this. Though, there are enough families that will have a second child, thus increasing the country’s population. Where are all of these new people going to go? A family of three cannot live comfortably in a studio apartment.
A close friend of mine went to China during our senior year of high school, and when he came back, said he was astonished by the living space. He said that the family he stayed with was cooped up in one small apartment. There was barely any room to move around and the bathroom was just a shower and a toilet right up against each other. He also said that while sightseeing, he noticed that people were living on top of each other. There wasn’t much breathing room. Houses were built right next to each other, with only a wall providing privacy.
The revised law will have a very strong impact on the country. The New York Times estimates that the population will peak in 2034 at a few hundred thousand over the current population. I think we will start to see real changes after 2034. I see it taking a number of years before we start to see significant changes in China.
After living in New York for the past 18 years, coming up to Keene was a huge difference. There is so much space here, with so much empty land and so many places to explore. I can’t imagine Keene ever being in the same situation we are seeing in China.
Lizzie Zelenka can be contacted at lzelenka@kscequinox.com
