On one child and other family matters
I'm writing to express my views on China's one-child policy, which came into force in the 1980s. The one-child policy is a good way to check the birth rate when population growth gets out of control.
The size and character of the typical Chinese family has changed radically in recent times. The traditional extended family, with many members, has been shrunk to the nuclear family of just the two parents and the single child.
This policy, however, has its negative side.
Should the only child die, the parents would feel the loss badly. Grieving parents may be driven to desperation. The situation could become especially bad if there was only one parent left.
Here is a true story to illustrate my point.
Ms Zhu lost her son in a car accident two years ago. In her grief, she stabbed herself with a knife, took an overdose of sleeping pills, and even jumped off the roof of her house.
