An end to One Child Policy: China no longer subject to the notorious birth control directive

By Tushar Singh

China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission, which enforced the country’s notorious one child policy for nearly four decades, will be absorbed by a new agency, the National Health Commission, as the government puts an end to the restriction on births. The phrase “family planning” will disappear from the ministerial structure, marking a shift from population control to population development in the country, as the country faces the prospect of an ageing population. The agency in its existing form was in turn the result of a merger five years ago of what was then the National Population and Family Planning Commission and the Ministry of Health.

The new National Health Commission will take over the responsibility for population management from the National Health and Family Planning Commission, which dates back in various forms to 1981 and known for its use of forced abortions, sterilization, and hefty fines to limit births. “It is a historic change and watershed moment,” said Yi Fuxian, a long-standing critic of China’s birth control policy and a researcher at the University of Wisconsin.

The National People’s Congress

The move was made during the session of the National People’s Congress (NPC). Under China’s 1982 constitution, the most powerful organ of state is meant to be the NPC, China’s parliament. The NPC is structured as a unicameral legislature, with the power to legislate, the power to oversee the operations of the government, and the power to elect the major officers of state. However, the NPC has been described as a ‘rubber stamp’, having ‘never rejected a government proposal’ in its history.

Repercussions of the One Child Policy

The move comes as China’s One Child Policy, enacted in 1980 to control the bursting population, led to an ageing population: The working-age population—those between 16 and 59 years old—has been falling since 2012, and is estimated to reduce by 23% by 2050. China’s pension gap has also started to increase due to the greying of the economy. Birth rate still remains less than the replacement rate, which means the population will soon begin to decline if the current trend continues and is not reversed quickly enough.

To tackle the situation, the government has allowed couples to have two children since 2016 and followed up with more measures of lifting restrictions on having more than one child. In October 2017, the provinces of Guangdong, Yunnan, Jiangxi, Hainan, and Fujian were asked to revise rules for companies which earlier followed a policy to fire employees who had extra children. The government is also expected to take measures like protecting the rights of pregnant women at work.  While family planning still figures prominently in Chinese policymaking, He Yafu, an independent demographer said: “Although the government has not officially abolished the family-planning policy, it is expected to be relegated to a lower status and ultimately retreat from the stage of history.” 

The National Health Commission’s role will not be limited to family planning like the commission it replaces, but will also include fostering a national health policy, reforming the medical system, controlling tobacco use, and overseeing occupational health.

The Wall Street Journal reported people sending virtual cash gifts to one another on the popular WeChat messaging app, rejoicing to the news of the replacement of the family commission, the almost four-decade-old commission implementing the one-child policy, by the by the National Health Commission. The policy decision may have brought a smile on the faces of the people, however, only time will tell how effective will it be in bringing a smile on Xi Jinping, whose ambitious plans for China in the name of the Belt and Road Initiative, requires young and dedicated workers to work for the country.