More People Equal More Power?

“More people equal more power,” said Mao Zedong, who was the first Chairman of the People’s Republic of China from 1949 to 1976. Responding to what Mao Zedong said, China later became a country with the biggest population in the world. Mao Zedong said this because China needed to be stronger in the war period. It was quite effective to hold position our motherland. In the meantime, my grandparents were similar to other people in China. They had five children. However, “More people equal more power” didn’t work in the common family. It became “More people equal more troubles” when the parents were incapable of raising their kids. Most children such as my parents had to go to work when they were still a child. Fortunately, my father had finished his high school education in China, and then he had to go to work because neither his parents nor he could afford to send him to college. After the end of all the wars in China, the government found that there were too much people in this state. Later, the government advocated the one-child policy, the policy for a prosperous, powerful nation and a happy family. The one-child policy was proven to be effective in China, and it has had many effects including increased employment opportunities, improved academic performance, and an improved quality of life.

Firstly, the one-child policy increased employment opportunities due to the reduction of population. The one-child policy was launched in the late 1970s, and it was put into practice twenty years before I was born. When I was a child in China, my parents could hardly find a job because the country didn’t have enough jobs for many people. Since my father just earned a high school diploma, and my mom had not finished her high school education, it was a hard time to find a job. Like many people in China, therefore, they started farming. In the meantime, they opened a store in our village. The one-child policy couldn’t affect the job opportunities in just a few years. When people in China can’t find a job, such as my parents, they can start their own companies. However, when you look back at the 1960s—1980s, you will find that the employment rate is much higher than before due to the one-child policy along with more job opportunities.

Secondly, the one-child policy most improved academic performance. The school registration fee is expensive in China, so people can’t afford it. My younger brother and I were born after the one-child policy implemented. Therefore, my parents had the ability to send us to high school because they had a regular income, and they have only two children to provide for their education fee. Frequently, my mom mentions that she couldn’t finish her high school education due to poverty. Another reason was that she was often tired in school since she had to do much housework after my grandparents went to work when she attended high school. Each time after my mom mentioned her childhood, she emphasizes how fortunate we are to attend school. And then, she would encourage us in our studies. She is grateful that we could attend school without doing any housework, so, my brother and I could focus on our studies. I greatly appreciate what my parents provided to my brother and me.

Lastly, it’s easy to realize now the quality of life has improved due to the one-child policy. On one hand, the effects of birth control are gradually obvious. On the other hand, people have higher education and have more job opportunities. We have a bigger and more comfortable house since it was revamped several times when my parents had enough money. In addition, we traveled each summer in China. We had never traveled abroad due to our limited language, but we traveled so many famous places in China, and learned about their local cultural characteristics. Besides that, my parents gave me pocket money each week in China when I was still a kid. Even though the pocket money was not too much, I saved it up to buy things that I needed.

When my parents look back at their childhood, they are thankful for the one-child policy. This policy has controlled China’s population, and it has ensured better education and increased employment opportunities. Since people have fixed incomes, they have the ability to support their offspring and their studies. For my family, all of these factors have improved the quality of their lives.——a better life equals high education plus a good job. If this policy had never happened, who knows what China would be like now? It would have become an impoverished country with rising unemployment rates, serious environmental pollution, and many would be illiterate. See what we have own nowadays. We feel indebted for the positive effects of one-child policy. It paved a bright way for all the people in China.