From the “One-Child” to the “Three-Child” Policy An Analysis of the Challenges of Population Control Policy in Modern China
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Abstract
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Mao Zedong encouraged China to have a large population because it was a useful resource for rapid economic development. However, the dramatic increase in China's population in the 1970s brought concern to Deng Xiaoping. As a second-generation Chinese leader, he enacted a nationwide one-child policy in 1979 for Chinese population control.
Through 35 years of one-child policy implementation, the demographic, cultural, social, and economic structures of Chinese society have completely changed. This article aims to discuss the population control policy released by the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It also deliberates the results of these policies on Chinese society and the introduction of the "Two-Child Policy" and the "Three-Child Policy". Finally, the paper examines the challenges of policy implementation. The failure of policy implementation is due to changing women's status, changes in values in Chinese society, economic status, access to medical services, and the pandemic.
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