Early days for any sea-change among population controllers

The government in the Chinese city of Shanghai is to encourage some parents to have a second child, according to reports. My initial reaction is to be sceptical about whatever the Chinese authorities are saying. Reports in the Western media of alleged relaxations of the one-child policy are usually propaganda by, or on behalf of, the Chinese Communist regime. In any case, even a two-child policy is a gross violation of fundamental human rights. Apart from the brutal way in which the Chinese authorities enforce population policy - forced abortions, forced sterilisations, punitive fines etc - couples have the right to have as many children as they want.

Also, just because the population controllers in one Chinese city may (I stress, may) have made a concession, doesn't mean they are repentant for the crimes they and other population controllers have committed under the 30-year one-child policy and are continuing to commit. The reported concession is for prudential, pragmatic reasons - averting a socio-economic collapse - rather than principles of human rights. The head of IPPF's affiliate in Korea is now encouraging Koreans to have more children, but has said nothing repenting of the pressure placed on Koreans in previous decades not to have children; in fact he justifies it. I pray that these population controllers will one day concede that population control is wrong and the danger of over-population is a myth - see the Population Research Institute's new website on the latter.

Comments on this blog? Email them to johnsmeaton@spuc.org.uk
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