One Child Policy

With the loss of so many lives in the recent earthquake, including thousands of children, China has temporarily retracted the infamous law which allows each couple only one child. The measure is meant to provide some solace to grieving parents as they try to cope with rebuilding homes and families. Parents whose children were killed or severely injured or disabled in the quake will be allowed to apply for a certificate allowing them to have another child.

I have a hard time even getting my head around that. You have to fill out an application and await approval to have a child. We're talking about an application for a human life. It's just such an odd thought.

In addition to this, China often fines parents of illegally born children (illegal because the parents already had one child, and were not allowed a second; illegal children are denied many rights, such as free education that the "legal" children receive). They have said the fines for illegal children killed in the earthquake will no longer be sought, though the fines already paid, despite the child being killed, will not be refunded. And if the "legal" child died but the illegal one has survived, then that child will now receive "legal" status. Again, the level of detachment is mind boggling ...

It is encouraging, however, that so many Chinese are wanting to adopt the surviving children that were orphaned (and should they later have their own biological child, they will not be penalized in any way).

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