Growing Old Under the One-Child Policy: Current Challenges and the Growing Need for Reform

Student, Name

University of Maryland University College

Since China enacted its draconian one-child policy nearly 40 years ago, the country has effectively curbed its explosive population growth, and simultaneously clawed its way into being the world’s second largest economy. However, in contrast to its benefits, the one-child policy has also caused a number of serious complications in China’s modern society, namely a gender imbalance, a labor shortage, and, most importantly, a significantly accelerated aging society. As China pours almost all of its planning and resources into its future, the country has all but forgotten about the people who built it in the first place. Research into the effects of the one-child policy has typically focused on the younger or future generations of China. But now, more than ever, the challenges faced by China’s aging population are at the forefront. The disparity between traditional eldercare and today’s reality under the one-child policy, along with the severe impacts of inadequate care, clearly illustrates China’s responsibility to reform its eldercare policies.

China’s one-child policy has radically impacted the country’s demographic, which, when combined with massive internal migration, has left millions of aging Chinese without care or support. As noted by Zhang and Goza (2006), the combination of lower mortality rates, increased life expectancy, and below-replacement fertility has accelerated China’s aging society, heralding new challenges in eldercare for the country. Eldercare has traditionally fallen onto the shoulders of younger generations, with parents and grandparents expecting to be cared for by their grown-up children. However, the demographic shifts under the one-child policy has strained the younger generations ability to provide ample care and support. Gui and Koropeckyj-Cox found that many of China’s youth felt as though their identities as only children placed them in a unique position to be the sole provider and caregiver, but struggle with the reality of providing that care. They wrote, “the conflict between work and family roles has become a major source of concern in their lives and has contributed to eroding traditional family arrangements” (2016, p. 257). The younger generations now bear the heaviest portion of the eldercare burden all on their own.

The weight of providing eldercare differs across the country, as internal population migration has shifted the countries demographic topography. The greatest impact on eldercare provision has been in rural areas where massive migration into the cities by young Chinese seeking economic opportunities has led to a significantly higher proportion of elderly residents in villages and towns without traditional care or support (Zhang & Goza 2006). Nie estimates that over 200 million young adults have migrated from rural areas into the cities, with that number possibly growing to reach 400 million by 2025 (2016). This departure from both hometowns and tradition illustrates how China’s antiquated notion of filial piety is no longer sufficient to ensure that the elderly live happy, healthy lives. The growing distance between traditional care and reality has had as much as an impact as the physical distances between grown children and their parents on the lives of China’s aging population.

Research shows that the erosion of traditional familial eldercare has had several worrying impacts, mainly increased rates of mental health issues as well as financial hardships. Loneliness and depression are endemic to China’s aging population, and those affected have a scarce few options. Nie’s research revealed what he called an “epidemic of elder suicide, especially in rural areas”, finding that the 44% of all suicides in China were elders over the age of 65. Disturbingly, he writes, rural elderly are three to five times more likely to commit suicide, with rural males ten or even twenty times more likely than their urban counterparts (2016). In addition to the psychological impacts, China’s elderly must also contend with financial difficulties. Song reveals that very few elderly people in China have stable incomes, with most relying on support from family members. However, the costs of medical and elderly care, as well as funeral arrangements, have increased significantly, even as family sizes shrink drastically. Song points out that government’s pension system is not available to all regions of the country, and only 24% of the aging population qualified for a pension in 2010 across the entire country (2014). Additionally, the pension system first benefits civil servants and state enterprise employees, followed by urban residents. Pension in rural areas is nearly 40 times lower than that of a non-state employee in Beijing, if they are allowed any pension at all (Nie 2016). Although mental health and financial issues are found in almost any elderly population worldwide, China’s antiquated approach to eldercare has exacerbated these problems.

Elderly parents who have lost their only child due to accidents, diseases, or disasters and who are unable to have a second child face exponentially greater hardship. Song’s research shows that these families, often called shidu families, number over 1 million as of 2014, and Nie indicates that the number could increase by about 76,000 families each year. Although some of these families had no choice but to have only one child, Nie points out that many families willingly supported the one-child policy. Now, he argues, these families are forced to bear the painful consequences of elderly life with no children to help them (2016). Shidu mothers were often forced to have abortions under the one-child policy, to which Song wrote that “all were regretful of this fact, given the loss of their only children, but they did not really have any other choice at the time, as the one-child policy was rigidly implemented” (p. 120). Song also illustrated how some of the financial difficulties that shidu families face have compounded, as they cannot rely on their children for support and many do not have siblings to rely on. Shidu families whose children died from disease are often in severe debt, having spent their life savings trying to save the child. Song also writes that common life events for elderly people are restricted for shidu families, such as applying to senior care homes which requires a child’s sponsorship regardless of who pays the fees. Likewise, children must authorize all common medical procedures and treatments for their parents in China (Song 2014). Nie adds that more than half of shidu parents suffer from chronic illnesses, and 60% suffer from depression, with almost the same amount show suicidal tendencies (2016). Apart from elderly suicide, the plights of shidu families are certainly one of the most critical crises in eldercare in China.

As the traditional notion of familial eldercare is no longer feasible, the Chinese government must re-evaluate their eldercare related policies and plans. Willingness by younger generations to care for their aging parents aside, some elderly couples have accepted that their children are unable to meet their needs and are now looking into non-traditional care options (Zhang & Goza 2016; Gui & Koropeckyj-Cox 2016). Nursing homes have historically been looked down upon, often seen as a last resort for the most desperate, but Zhang and Goza argue that promotion by the Chinese government could change these opinions and alleviate many of the population’s fears. They also recommended to replicate city neighborhood committee programs that had found success in several urban areas and implement the model in more rural areas. These programs utilize community volunteers to provide support and communal care to groups of elderly living alone (Zhang & Goza 2016). Many scholars recognize that eldercare should be provided at the national level, rather than a burden placed on the individual. Nie argued that, “Eldercare is an arduous challenge not just for these single-child families, but for the entire country” (2016, p. 353). Gui and Koropeckyj-Cox also spoke out against putting the burden of eldercare entirely on the family, saying that “it is not really realistic to expect these young people to solve their family problems by themselves, nor is it fair to expect individuals to solely shoulder the consequences of national population policies and demographic changes” (2016, p. 270). It is painfully clear that China’s eldercare related policies and programs must undergo significant reform, else there will be no better future for China’s aging population.

As China continues to pursue a brighter future for its population, it cannot make the mistake of allowing its elderly population to suffer any more than it already has. It is time for the Chinese government to admit its failures in the wake of the one-child policy and strive to reform its plan of action. No longer can the burden of eldercare be left on individual families or strangled support systems, no longer can the people rely on antiquated notions of filial piety for care. China’s elderly now face depression, suicide, impoverishment, and have no where to turn. Only a dramatic shift in China’s policy and cultural ideology can save the elderly population from living out their days alone and in pain.

References

Gui, T., Koropeckyj-Cox, T. (2016). “I am the only child of my parents:” Perspectives on future elder care of parents among Chinese only-children living overseas. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 31(3), 255-275. doi: 10.1007/s10823-016-9295-z

Nie, J. (2016). Erosion of eldercare in China: A socio-ethical inquiry in aging, elderly suicide and the government’s responsibilities in the context of the one-child policy. Aging International, 41(4), 350-365. doi: 10.1007/s12126-016-9261-7

Song, Y. (2014). Losing an only child: The one-child policy and elderly care in China. Reproductive Health Matters, 22(43), 113-124. doi: 10.1016/S0968-8080(14)43755-8

Zhang, Y., Goza, F. (2006). Who will care for the elderly in China? A review of the problems caused by China’s one-child policy and their potential solutions. Journal of Aging Studies, 20(2), 151-164. doi: 10.1016/j.jaging.2005.07.002

Please examine the sample paper for writing assignment #2 (the four-source essay). The paper is about the Effect of the One Child Policy on Elder Care in China. It is called StudentA_4source_sample.docx

This is not a perfect paper. More synthesis is certainly necessary between the sources. However, as you can see from the annotated bibliography, the student has narrowed her topic. She has moved from the general effects of China’s One Child Policy to the specific effect on the care for the Elderly in China.

Please read through the paper. Then answer the following questions. Your answers can be in short paragraphs.

1. In the paper, notice how the writer integrates the first two sources into the second paragraph? How do these two sources relate to each other? How could the student have made the relationship clearer?

2. The writer cited Zhang & Goza (2016) in various parts of the paper. What did these authors add to the literature on the Elder Care in China, according to this paper? You might focus on paragraphs 2, 3 and 5

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