Changes

The '''One-child Policy''', known also as the Family Planning Policy, is a policy in [[Communist]] [[China]], initiated in the 1980s, that prohibits any family in urban China from having more than one child. The policy does not apply to rural families. It is an attempt by the government to limit China's population and is often broken by citizens who can afford to pay the fines.

The '''One-child Policy''', known also as the Family Planning Policy, was a policy in [[Communist]] [[China]], initiated in the 1980s, that prohibited any family in urban China from having more than one child. The policy did not apply to rural families. It was an attempt by the government to limit China's population and was often broken by citizens who can afford to pay the fines.

The policy is backed up by draconian laws that impose fines many times a poor person's annual income, and local officials are frequently known to coerce, or even force women who do not have a birth permit to undergo an abortion, because their own livelihoods are on the line if their district's birthrate exceeds the official quota. Couples who defy the policy may also lose their jobs.

The policy was backed up by draconian laws that impose fines many times a poor person's annual income, and local officials are frequently known to coerce, or even force women who do not have a birth permit to undergo an abortion, because their own livelihoods are on the line if their district's birthrate exceeds the official quota. Couples who defied the policy may also lose their jobs.

In much of rural China, couples have a strong preference for male children for cultural and financial reasons. A male child will inherit the possessions of his parents, carry on the family name and any business, and work to support the parents when they are too old to support themselves. A female child, in comparison, will serve only to marry into another family, and contribute nothing to the property of her parents. Thus the demand for a male child is easily strong enough that rural families will often selectively abort baby girls before birth.  This has already caused an asymmetry between China's male population and female population in some rural areas, with the male population vastly out-numbering the female population.  And others speculate that China will become "the world's first gay superpower".<ref>''America Alone'' by [[Mark Steyn]].</ref>

In much of rural China, couples have a strong preference for male children for cultural and financial reasons. A male child will inherit the possessions of his parents, carry on the family name and any business, and work to support the parents when they are too old to support themselves. A female child, in comparison, will serve only to marry into another family, and contribute nothing to the property of her parents. Thus the demand for a male child is easily strong enough that rural families will often selectively abort baby girls before birth.  This has already caused an asymmetry between China's male population and female population in some rural areas, with the male population vastly out-numbering the female population.  And others speculate that China will become "the world's first gay superpower".<ref>''America Alone'' by [[Mark Steyn]].</ref>

2013 the government eased the One-child Policy. Families in which at least one parent was an only child can have a second child now.<ref>http://cnsnews.com/news/article/china-ease-1-child-policy-abolish-labor-camps</ref>

Since 2013 the government eased the One-child Policy strongly. Since then families in which at least one parent was an only child can have a second child now.<ref>http://cnsnews.com/news/article/china-ease-1-child-policy-abolish-labor-camps</ref>

===Exceptions===

===Exceptions===