Wang 1 Shanchao Wang Kristen Foster CO150-400 October 20, 2013 Changing in the One-Child Policy in China is Looming

Ahead: An Annotated Bibliography I composed this annotated bibliography to probe the rising exigency and controversial topic of the one-child policy in China. Why is the policy exigency? The one-child policy, which was introduced in 1983 as a basic national policy, has controlled excessive population growth and promoted the development of Chinas economy. However, an increasing worry about fewer young labor forces which will slow down the speed of economy development has nationally spread. People began to argue if it is necessary to carry out this policy. The topic is controversial because the government in China affirms this policy should not be abandoned while other stakeholders such as humanitarian organizations are against it strongly. My interest in this topic was started when I was browsing the Weibo (the Chinese version of Twitter) this year. This topic has attracted more than ten million people to discuss, and it made me think of Chinas current situation. Moreover, as an economics student who minors in statistics, the topic involves both economy and demographic statistics, which can combine my professional knowledge and reality. My research question is: Should China gives up the one-child policy? I conducted my research to this annotated bibliography from October 4th to today. Four sources are included in this annotation. Two of them were published on peer-reviewed, scholarly journal. The

Wang 2 other two sources are from a famous Chinese media called Phoenix and a Chinese database called Zhiwang.

Wang 3 Zhang, Yinping. Dispute Arouse Again, Population Expert: Do not Let Population Size Confuse You. Phoenix parent-child. Ifeng, 18 January 2013. Web. 20 October 2013. This report is organized by three paragraphs and the main idea which may attract many policy makers is that we have to change our population policy. Zhang uses statistic data, cites professors conclusions and famous persons opinions to support her thesis. Zhang states that one-child policy will reduce the number of youth labor force which may lead to crisis in economy as well as national defense in which young people are desperately needed. She also claims if every family only has one-child, the burden of supporting elder people will be very heavy in the future. Thus, she draws the conclusion that it is the high time that we have to change our one-child policy.

Although there is a limitation that this report was not published in an academic journal and the author is not well-known, it is credible. Firstly, Zhang cites a famous professors statement in Beijing University which is a famous university in China. Secondly, this article was published on January 18 in this year, which provided recent data.

This source provides the negative aspects of one-child policy and how it affects children in one child families. For example, children in one child families may lack of sharing because they do not have siblings, and sometimes they may feel lonely when both of their parents are at work. Knowing the negative aspects will contribute to my arguments for my exploratory essay.

Wang 4 Wang, Feng. Cai, Yong. Gu, Baochang. Population, Policy, and Politics: How Will History Judge Chinas One-Child Policy? Population & Development Review. Feb2013 Supplement, Vol. 38, p115-129. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 October 2013. This academic essay was written for other scholars who study population issues. According to the authors, the thesis of this article is that the one-child policy will be perceived historically as an extreme example of nation intervention in reproduction and it is a severe mistake. The authors use data from countries that had a birth rate similar to Chinas in 1970 and compares population trend to demonstrate that even without the birth control policy, population would decline and the one-child policy is unnecessary.

This source is reliable because it from peer-reviewed academic journal and the authors have published many academic articles in famous journal. In addition, the well-organized structure makes it easier for readers to find the thesis and supporting points which improves its credibility. The limitation of this source is that it focuses on historical data which may not contribute to current situation.

Through this article, we can clearly realize that even though one-child policy brings the high speed of economic development, it has many negative effects to Chinese society. Therefore, it is a precipitant decision made by Chinese government which is the main stakeholder who supports the one-child policy. Understanding negative aspects such as sex-selective abortion will enrich my arguments when I write my exploratory essay.

Wang 5 Nakra, Prema. "China's One-Child Policy: The Time For Change Is Now!" World Future Review (World Future Society) 4.2 (2012): 134-140. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. In this scholarly article the author discusses positive and negative consequences of the one-child policy, and explores the challenges for China in the coming decades. This article was written for researchers and policy makers who concern the one-child policy. For the positive influence, Nakra uses data to point out that one-child policy has controlled the population in China and transformed Chinese economy. For the negative influence, Nakra lists nine consequences and cites journals to reach the conclusion: It is time for China to rethink its human development strategy (Nakra, 139).

Several factors contribute to the credibility of this article. For example, it was published in a peer-review academic journal, which increases the availability of the information. Besides, it cited many data like GDP growth rate as well as fertility rate, which makes this source more objective. One limitation is that Nakra does not analyze every aspect in detail, which weakens the relationship between thesis and supporting points.

This source gives me an overview of one-child policy in China and place extra emphasis on its negative effects. Also it mentions a large range of stakeholders from ordinary family to countries. I think this article will help me complete summary and abstract of exploratory essay.

Wang 6 Li, Xiaohong. Why Should We Insist Birth Control Policy? Paper.People.com.cn. Peoples Daily, 14 January 2013. Web. 20 October 2013 In this interview, Li focus on the question: Given the low fertility rate, why should we insist birth control policy (one-child policy)? And he concluded that we must insist this policy. This interview is aimed to those who against the existing population policy. He supports his thesis by citing professors opinion that Chinas low fertility rate is not stable, once the policy is abandoned, the fertility rate will increase sharply. Li also uses data to illustrate that current population policy is not the traditional one-child policy any more. It is flexible and in some condition, families can raise more than one child.

Several factors build up the reliability of this interview. First of all, this article was published in Peoples Daily, which is an authoritative and nationwide newspaper. Secondly, the interviewee is the Dean of the Institute of Society and Population in Renmin University, a top university in China. One limitation in this source is that it lacks of outside sources, the whole interview was based on the professors view.

This interview offers me the reason why we should insist the birth control policy and reminds the Chinese government to reform the population policy in order to fit the reality. This source will contribute to the positive aspects of one-child policy in my argument article.

Wang 7 Works Cited Zhang, Yinping. Dispute Arouse Again, Population Expert: Do not Let Population Size Confuse You. Phoenix parent-child. Ifeng, 18 January 2013. Web. 20 October 2013. Wang, Feng. Cai, Yong. Gu, Baochang. Population, Policy, and Politics: How Will History Judge Chinas One-Child Policy? Population & Development Review. Feb2013 Supplement, Vol. 38, p115-129. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 October 2013. Nakra, Prema. "China's One-Child Policy: The Time For Change Is Now!" World Future Review (World Future Society) 4.2 (2012): 134-140. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. Li, Xiaohong. Why Should We Insist Birth Control Policy? Paper.People.com.cn. Peoples Daily, 14 January 2013. Web. 20 October 2013

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