NEWS FOCUS:THE PROFOUND sociological impact of the One Child Policy in China, the three-decade old ruling which limits most couples to having just one child, can be felt in the language itself, writes CLIFFORD COONAN
Words for a younger male cousin or older female cousin are gradually being supplanted in the Chinese language by the words for older or younger siblings – where once your cousins were xiong di or a tang mei, now you have didi and gege or meimei or jiejie – because of the One Child Policy, your cousins in China become your brothers or sisters now.
The generation grows up in what is popularly known as the “4-2-1” system, which refers to four grandparents and two parents dealing with one child.
These are the Little Emperors, the spoilt only-children who the older generation sees as selfish and lazy, but who themselves can feel lonely.
The One Child Policy is being blamed for all kinds of new behaviour patterns – the Little Emperors have bigger incomes and drastically different expectations from their parents’ generation. Sociologists say they are causing a sea change in China’s rigid, highly traditional society, which values hard work, thrift, perseverance and respect for your elders above all. They say the Little Emperors have no work ethic, are too self-centred and disrespectful.
Graduate Jin Zhifeng, who was born in 1983, says his generation are a bit at sea. “The post-1980s generation feels lost sometimes. They have to face more pressure, to work and buy a house. They learn more than their parents. They have their own dreams. They want to be the best. And the society nowadays puts too much pressure on them,” he says.
Liu Jun, 22, who works for a state-owned enterprise in Beijing, talks of the loneliness. “We get double the love from our parents, but we grow up alone. So we’re very self-aware. But then we also get to go to university, and we mature fast. I think we might be a bit selfish, but we will become fully mature citizens eventually,” she says.
The One Child Policy was imposed in 1979 to stem population growth already running dangerously high in the world’s most populous nation.
Chinese officials point out that the policy has prevented an estimated 400 million births, and that a population of 1.7 billion would be too great a drain on the country’s, indeed the world’s, scant resources.
“I don’t think the generation of only-children is totally spoiled. Because of better living standards and the One Child Policy, they have grown up with the full love of their parents.
“But they have their own ideology and are self-reliant,” says Shen Yixin, 26, who works for a real estate company in Shanghai and is getting married next year.
Liu Fengqin, a psychologist at the Beijing Maple Women’s Psychological Counseling Centre, says the post-1980s generation is unique. “I love them a lot. My own child was born in 1980, after all,” she says. “Their parents suffered during the Cultural Revolution [1966-1976], and lost out on an opportunity of further study, so they want their children to study, and put pressure on them,” says Dr Liu. “They also need support from their companions, because they grew up without siblings.
“The post-1980s generation usually works very hard, and they are passionate and smarter than before. Since they do not have brother and sister closeness, they are more self-oriented. And they do not have a good tolerance.
“Therefore, when they are in a relationship or get married, they do not know how to love properly,” she says.
The impact of the policy on the family structure has been immense. The number of only-children in China has surpassed 100 million since the introduction of the policy. The single children group accounted for about 8 per cent of China’s population of 1.3 billion. There is now an average birth rate of 1.8 children per couple in China, compared with six when it was introduced.
In 1982, households averaged about 4.4 members. In 2005, the figure was reduced to about 3.1. The “core family” consisting of a couple and one child is now the norm in urban areas.
Huang Enming, who was born in 1981 and works for an optical company, thinks his generation has a different sense of social responsibility.
“As they become adults, they do not have strong social responsibility. They refuse to grow up. Most of them grow up in an environment where they are alone, and they lack communication, thus, they are more selfish, lack love and sense of responsibility,” he says.
There are signs that China is moving away from the one-child policy, largely because of fears of an ageing population. China’s biggest city and financial hub, Shanghai, is now allowing particular kinds of people to have two children. Couples who were both only children, which includes most of the city’s newly-weds, are allowed two children. Also, couples are allowed to have two if both partners have PhDs, or are disabled, or come from a rural area or, in some cases, if their first child is a girl. There are also exceptions for when a widow or widower, or a divorcee, marries someone childless.
Housewife Liu Qi’s only daughter just passed the high school entrance examinations, and she recognises the pressure on these children.
“To get prepared for the high school exams, all our family was very nervous, like we were about to attend the exams. Their exams get tougher every year and competition is fierce. Sometimes watching her do homework late at night, I felt sorry for this generation of children.
“All we can do is to take care of her well. My husband and I do not impose any special requirements on our girl. We just want her to be happy,” she says.