4.7 What awaits China’s generation of Little Emperors?
Evidence suggests that despite the plight of the latest generation, China is indeed becoming a small-family culture. The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Survey found that 35% of women prefer having only one child; 57% prefer having two children; and only 5.8% want more than two. True to the demographic transition’s predictions, educated, urban women wanted fewer children than their rural, farm-dwelling counterparts. That’s good news for those striving to bring China toward zero population growth: in the last three decades, the federal government has allowed hundreds of millions of Chinese people to move to cities in search of work. Those families will no longer need lots of children to work on the farm.
In recent years, the government has softened its stance and added several significant exceptions to the one-child rule: couples made up of two only-children, rural families with land to farm, and several groups of ethnic minorities are all allowed to have more than one child if they so choose.
Still, it’s unlikely that the one-child policy will officially expire any time soon. In a 2008 interview with the state newspaper, China Daily, the country’s minister of State Population and Family Planning, Zhang Weiqing, said that loosening the one-child policy would unleash a new baby boom. “Given such a large population base, there would be major fluctuations in population growth if we abandoned the one-child rule now. It would cause serious problems and add extra pressure on social and economic development.”
For better or worse, China is now a country of small families, and of ever-fewer children. That may mean more resources per child, but it also means fewer workers, taxpayers, and innovators. Ultimately, it means that even as they bask in the spoils of one-child, the “Little Emperors” are burdened with the hopes and fears of an entire country.
Select references in this chapter:
Ewing, B., et al. 2010. Ecological Footprint Atlas 2010. Oakland, CA: Global Footprint Network.
Greenhalgh, S. 2008. Just One Child: Science and Policy in Deng’s China.
Berkeley: University of California Press.
Hesketh, T., et al. 2005. New England Journal of Medicine, 353: 1171–1176.
Ni, H., and A.M. Rossignol. 1994. Epidemiology, 5: 490–494.
Pearce, T. Feb. 17 2012. The Globe and Mail. Toronto.
Pritchett, L. 1994. Population and Development Review, 20: 1–55.
Sedgh, G., et al. 2007. Women with an Unmet Need for Contraception in Developing Countries and Their Reasons for Not Using a Method. Guttmacher Institute.
Statistics Canada. 2012. Annual Demographic Estimates: Canada, Provinces and Territories. Government of Canada. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 91-215-XWE.
Yin, Q. 2003. Theses Collection of 2001 National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Survey. Beijing: China Population Publishing House. 116–26.
Zhu, W., et al. 2009. British Medical Journal, 338: b1211.
BRING IT HOME: PERSONAL CHOICES THAT HELP
The impact of humans on the planet is created by a combination of population size and our resource use. The issue of population and carrying capacity is complex. We cannot have a truly sustainable society until key components such as poverty, lack of education, and basic human rights are addressed.
Individual Steps
Buy Fair Trade Certified products. These products provide a livable wage to workers and are often linked to education and community development.
Research the products you buy to make sure that you are not supporting child slave labour or sweatshop facilities.
Group Action
Raise money and invest it in a socially responsible project. Kiva is a non-profit organization that provides micro-loans to help people start small businesses in less developed countries (www.kiva.org/team/canada).
Join an organization such as Habitat for Humanity, which builds housing for low income families.
Policy Change
We all know that our tendency as humans is to build up and out; however, revitalizing our current older downtown areas is important to prevent new habitat destruction as well as to make use of current infrastructure. Urge your local government to keep shopping and dining establishments in historic downtowns. If needed, work to develop a community partnership that starts clean-up programs and community gardens in abandoned lots.
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