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Journalism of Courage
In September 1980,the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party put out a public letter that,for the first time,announced Chinas one-child policy. Typically,it was not debated either in public or in the rubber-stamp national parliament beforehand; even more typically,it was enforced soon enough with ruthless,heavy-handed efficiency. Chinas population may have slowly adapted to this intrusion into their lives,and the policy itself is less stringently enforced and contains more loopholes than before; but it is clear that it still bites. So,as the date on which the original announcement claimed pressure would have been alleviated 30 years on from 1980 fast approaches,there are unsurprising reports of push-back.
One such was news on Thursday that the Shanghai local government intends to urge some urban couples in which neither partner has siblings to have more than one child. Such couples have been made exempt from the national policy anyway; local governments dont directly challenge central authority. But to visit couples at home suggesting that they have another child nevertheless indicates the depth of feelings in many parts of urban China that the policy has failed. Attempts by the government to link economic progress since the 70s to population control didnt succeed; and the coming four-two-one problem,where one earner fears being responsible for six dependents in the generations above,has fuelled demands that the policy end now.
