where was the one child policy introduced in china
One-child policy Although the fertility rate began to decline, the Chinese government observed the global debate over a possible overpopulation catastrophe suggested by organizations such as Club of Rome and Sierra Club. While visiting Europe in 1979, one of the top Chinese officials, Song Jian, read two influential books of the movement, The Limits to Growth and A Blueprint for Survival. With a group of mathematicians, Song determined the correct population of China to be 700Â million. A plan was prepared to reduce China's population to the desired level by 2080, with the one-child policy as one of the main instruments of social engineering.[9] In spite of some criticism inside the party, the plan (also referred to as the Family Planning Policy[10]) was officially adopted in 1979.[11][12][13] The plan called for families to have one child each in order to curb a then-surging population and limit the demands for water and other resources,[14] as well as to alleviate social, economic, and environmental problems in China.[15] The policy was formally implemented as a temporary measure on September 18, 1980.[16]