Jie Jie Cai is four months old. He sits in a green chair by the balcony, and gets plenty of attention. Attention from his mother Jia Rui, his father Wen Kang, grandfather number one Wang Jun, grandmother number one Chun Hong, grandfather number two Zi Jin, and grandmother number two Chun Ping. They each follow everything that Jie Jie does - which, at the age of four months, is not all that much. Right now Jie Jie has absolutely no idea how much his family is counting on him. When he gets older, he will have to support them all. Six adults - and just one child. This is the effect of China's one-child policy. "We want you to look after all of us," Jie Jie's father tells him. "Mum, dad, grandpa and grandma one, grandpa and grandpa two." Heavy burden China may be forging ahead as a world power. But it is also beginning to face the long-term logic of its one-child policy - too many old people and not enough young people. In other words, fewer workers supporting more and more elderly relatives. Twenty-year-old Wang Dan knows what babies like Jie Jie will face when they grow up. She sends back the money she makes at the Betta factory in southern China to support her parents and her grandmother. Many others do the same. People like Wang Dan are beginning to carry a heavy burden. In this, the world's largest country, factory owners are now finding it difficult to get enough workers. At the Betta factory, several benches of sewing machines are idle - there are not enough workers to fill the spaces. "It's very difficult," says William Wang, who runs the factory, "and it's getting more and more difficult. Now there are a lot more factories and fewer workers because of the one-child policy. Costs are going up. It's not looking good." Guaranteed success By contrast, the San He care home in Beijing is full of bustle. The residents play their afternoon board game of mahjong with great intensity. Two retired police officers, now in their eighties, play a game of pool. The owners of this home have no problem filling spaces here. Starting up an old people's home is a guaranteed way of doing good business in China. This particular home used to be a primary school - until everyone decided it made much more sense to focus on the elderly instead. "I used to work as the head teacher of the kindergarten, and now I'm in charge of the old people's home," says Wang Shuyuan. "Because of the one-child policy there are fewer children in China. So, many schools are changing into old people's homes. It's very common now." On the ground floor, the residents queue up for lunch. Some of them have pensions to pay the care home fees. Others rely on their children to pay for them. In the next few decades, this burden will get heavier and heavier. this article follows a good logic, the one child policy is definitely going to cause major problems. Imagine the immense pressure of having to support your grandparents and parents. China will have 400 million elderly people. Who is going to feed them all?
yeh unfortunately the policy has created as many problems, as it should solve you could argue all day about rights and wrongs of having the one child policy, but whats done is done, and hopefully the government is gonna try and solve this problem asap
^its not as simple as that, the worlds resources are already going at an unsustainable rate, let alone China's So you have still have to resolve the problem of population control (whether though education, or legislation, etc) if you suddenly got rid of the policy and chinas population again grows uncontrollably, down the line, your gonna have problems such as famine, poverty due to lack of resources or over-priced resources because theres not enough to go around (in fact that is already a problem), overcrowding, etc, etc
its a problem with no solution. can't have too many kids to prevent overpopulated problem. but on the other hand, who'll be working?
China can try promote voluntary sterilisation and offering people money to guarantee their future life. (just enough to provide them with food and health plans to survive for example) But every family wants a heir to continue their own family line ofcourse. Damn, they'll have a massive problem if their population turns grey!
huuuuuge problem!!! who's going to make Nike shoes? and the 90% of clothes, electronics, everyday goods that are 'made in china'... Prices will definitely go up, not enough workers to work the machines... there will be a world wide recession, businesses collapsing, inflation everywhere... I wonder if the Chinese can adapt more to the western culture? At 18, kick the kids out, work and save enough for retirement... then put themselves into nursing homes? Far fetched idea... but they'll have to cope one way or another.
I think the 1 child policy is too harsh. It is definitely good but should not be compulsory. Having said that. Now which is more tough? Feeding a hundred old people or thousands of young kids? In the future, lots of old people needs taking care of, but in the cycle of life, having a 1 child policy will balance everything out 'cause once they get old, then there will be few old people.
how the hellll do you find such a thread..... 4 years old! Is this thing still going on or can you have more than one kid now anyways...
