China’s One-Child Policy: Lingering Trauma and the Reversal of a Deep Demographic Crisis
By: CNN
Decades after China’s controversial one-child policy from 1980 to 2015, the scars of forced abortions and sterilizations still haunt many families. Fang and Yao, pseudonyms used for privacy, share their heartbreaking stories of how the policy shaped their lives.
Daughters born under the one-child rule faced challenges, with families resorting to illegal registrations to evade penalties. Fang, now 30, avoids motherhood due to childhood insecurities from being separated from her parents. Meanwhile, Yao, growing up as the eldest of three siblings, was abandoned due to policy restrictions.
Although Beijing has now pivoted to pro-birth campaigns, offering incentives and subsidies, Chinese women like Fang and Yao remain skeptical. The evolving policies have sparked online discussions, igniting memories of past hardships inflicted by the state.
As China grapples with a plummeting birth rate and an aging population, the aftermath of the one-child policy poses complex challenges that cannot be erased by newfound incentives alone.
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