China's One-Child Policy: A Social Media Backlash

The recent passing of Peng Peiyun, a former leader of China's one-child policy, has sparked intense criticism on social media. Peng, who headed the Family Planning Commission from 1988 to 1998, was remembered by state media as a notable figure in women and children's issues. However, the public's reaction was far from celebratory. On platforms like Weibo, users expressed their discontent. Some posts were particularly poignant, imagining the children who might have been born if the policy had not been in place. The one-child policy, enforced from 1980 to 2015, led to forced abortions and sterilizations, causing significant emotional and social impact.The policy was initially introduced to control population growth, but it had unintended consequences. China's population, once the world's largest, has been declining since 2020. Experts predict this trend will continue, with data for 2025 expected to show further decline. Peng's work primarily focused on rural areas, where large families were traditionally valued for economic and cultural reasons. The preference for sons led to gender imbalances and the abandonment of infant girls. By the 2010s, Peng had changed her stance, advocating for a more lenient policy. Today, China is grappling with a shrinking workforce and an aging population. The government is trying to reverse the trend with incentives like childcare subsidies and extended maternity leave. However, the long-term effects of the one-child policy continue to pose challenges for the country's economic and social stability.