Wednesday, April 2, 2025

October 9, 2019

John Oliver’s Look At China’s Controversial One-Child Policy [Video]

China may have ended its one-child policy back in 2015, but the ramifications of that rule will still be felt for generations to come.

In conventional family setups, the older sibling will tell you how much easier the younger sibling has it.

Other than the hand-me-down clothing, which is a bit of a bummer, the younger sibling generally benefits from the fact that their older sibling has already broken most of the rules, and thus worn down the parents to the point where they’re just happy if the younger sibling comes home in one piece.

Thanks, older siblings around the world.

In China, however, it really helps to arrive on the scene first, given that up until 2015, that’s where the production line usually ended.

Some basics from TIME, before we dive into John’s take:

Under the one-child policy, Chinese citizens who had a second child could not register the birth of the child without paying a massive fine. The result is 6.5 million Chinese with no official status, rendering many of them unable to marry or work…

But now, as China faces an aging and shrinking population and a declining birth rate, the government has enacted a two-child policy complete with a new wave of propaganda.

If there’s one thing the Chinese government loves, it’s a spot of propaganda.

Settle in, and let John run you through what’s cracking these days:

[source:time]