One Child Policy

Please read this article. I am in a state of shock. There are no words that i can even say to express the heartache.

Although gender discrimination is present in employment worldwide, certain Chinese practices go beyond discrimination to the point of being violations of human rights.5 This is particularly true in the case of outright prohibitions on a woman’s opportunity to work at all and employer sanctions based on infringements of family planning regulations.6 The on-going case of Sun Lili, a former banquet assistant at the Worker’s Family Hotel, a state-operated enterprise (SOE or work unit) in Beijing, is a prime illustration of the gender discrimination regularly practiced by Chinese work units.7

Sun Lili became pregnant with her first child in October, 1996, due to the failure of contraceptives that she and her husband, Zhang Zhuan, had been using.8 Although this pregnancy would be in line with China’s one-child policy, Sun had not received the requisite permission of her employer’s family planning office for the pregnancy prior to conceiving.9 Sun had become pregnant twice previously, also due to the failure of contraceptives, and had aborted both times because she and her husband felt they had no chance of having the pregnancies approved by Sun’s work unit.10 After the second abortion, Sun’s doctor told her that it would be unsafe to have any more abortions if she wanted to have children in the future.11 In response to the doctor’s warning, Sun and Zhang, who stress that they accept the [*PG347]PRC’s one-child policy, decided to go through with the pregnancy despite the outcome of Sun’s requests for approval.12

While the neighborhood planning committee approved the pregnancy, Sun’s work unit refused permission, stating that the timing of the pregnancy was inconvenient, and it ordered that Sun terminate her pregnancy if she wanted to keep her position.13 Sun expected that she would be sanctioned and anticipated a modest fine.14 However, when Sun did not comply with her employer’s demand, she was fined heavily: 3,100 yuan, or about $400, the equivalent to nearly a third of her yearly wages.15 Her employer also refused to pay her or her daughter’s medical expenses, and Sun was eventually dismissed.16

Sun and Zhang then sought to challenge the decision on the basis that the fine was excessive and in violation of the 1996 Beijing Family Planning Regulations.17 The couple and the employer first entered into arbitration, but the work unit’s decision was upheld.18 Sun and Zhang then filed suit under the 1990 Administrative Litigation Law (ALL), which provides individuals with a direct route to challenging actions of governmental agencies in the courts.19 Sun’s case was heard at the district and intermediate levels of the People’s Court, but both courts ruled in her employer’s favor.20 Sun plans to further appeal the court’s rulings with the assistance of the Center for Women’s Law Studies and Legal Services of Beijing University.21

Sun’s case is especially significant because it is the first family planning challenge that has progressed so far through the judicial system.22 Usually such cases go no farther than an administrative appeal.23 Although the courts have ruled against Sun, her case hopefully will force work units to reconsider their family planning regulations [*PG348]and to recognize the ways in which these policies unfairly discriminate against female employees.24

WOW! I really did not know things like this happen. I have to be honest this story really affected me. This poor woman was treated unfair for no reason at all. So I can understand this story better I had to do some research on the One Child Policy that China has. I would like to share with you some of my notes.

In 1979, Deng Xiaoping, Chinese ruler, established the One Child Policy. The One Child Policy limits a family to only having one child unless the first born is a girl or disabled. In rural areas sometimes you are permitted to having two children. If you break these laws you will be subject to a monetary fine. The reason for the One Child Policy is because as we all know China is over populated and this tacit has decreased the births in China.

In July 2007 China’s population was 1.321 billion people, about, one-fifth of the world’s population. So you can see why Deng Xiaoping was worried about the growing population in China. With both Family Planning and the One Child Policy the government has been able to control the population. Here are some important factors that go along with the One Child Policy.

• If you break the law and have a second child, that child will not be recognized by the government. Which means they would not be a Chinese citizen, would not be allowed to enroll in school, have problems finding a marriage and allow have a difficult time obtaining a job. So this is one person you do not want to be in China. You are probably the most unequal person in this country.
• One Child Policy, if followed corrected, is sometimes rewarded with monetary funds, crops and others things that would benefit your life.

Are there exceptions to this rule? Well from the reading yes there are. You can bribe anyone and get anything. So if you have money and know the right people this law does not apply to you. With all fairness I guess this type of occurrences happen all over the world. If you have power you can break the laws. Back on track, so this law basically applies to the people that are not as fortunate. Does not seem like a good example of equality does it?