During a memorial service, this mother holds a picture of her child who was killed in the May 12 quake. More than 100 children were killed in the school her son attended.
This man holds a picture of his young daughter, Bi Yuexing, his only child. She was a victim of the May 12 quake that destroyed her school.
Rescue workers line up backpacks found in the rubble of a primary (elementary) school that collapsed in the quake.
The devastating earthquakes in China have claimed the lives of up to 80,000 people, including children who were the only child in their family. As a result, the Chinese government has given the green light to parents whose child was killed, injured, disabled, etc. to have another child. Grieving parents will be able to pick up a certificate that states they are allowed to have another child even though they already have/had one. This certificate will only be available to quake victims, which gives us just a small amount of insight as to how strict the one-child-only system is.
The one-child policy was made effective in the 1970's in an attempt to control the population growth in China. Loopholes to this law, very few however, have been made in several provinces. For example, if the first child born to a couple is a girl, they may have another child in hopes that they will bear a son, the traditional preferred family heir. Exceptions were also made to different ethnic group and rural families, and to parents who were the only child in their families. As a result of the one-child-only law, 400 million births have been "prevented".
If parents, pre-quake, had more than one child, the second (third, fourth,etc. child) was considered to have been born illegally. As a result, the parents were slapped with hefty fines. (The fines are one of the many methods used to "prevent" the birth of more than one child.) "Illegal" children are denied free education and other rights their "legal" sibling would have. Post-quake, if a "legal" first child was killed by the quake, the "illegal" second child would now become the "legal" child of the parents, after registration, and all fines will be dropped if the child is under the age of 18. This child would also be entitled to the rights their "legal" sibling had.
Several schools (an estimated 7,000 class rooms) filled with children on May 12, 2008 were destroyed in the earthquake. The number of estimated children lost to the quake has not been made as several thousands of people are still missing. The Chinese government has launched a full investigation as to why the school buildings were so unstable and who designed them that way. Once the people responsible for the construction/design of the school buildings are found, they will probably pay with their lives according to the Chinese government (as in the case of the tainted dog food a year or so ago).
The Chinese way of life is so different to me. I have never been or lived in a place that restricted how many children one was allowed to have. In fact, it is becoming more common in the US to see unwed young girls (under the age of 18) with babies (yes, more than one) of their own. Although I do not agree with a law that states a couple can only have one child legally, I appreciate the fact that the grieving parents are being given a chance to rebuild their lives and have a new family.
Click here to read the AP story that inspired this blog post. All photos shown are from the AP and taken by Vincent Yu, Andy Wong, and Greg Baker.
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