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🇨🇳History of the CCP (28)🇨🇳 Population Planning / One Child Policy (1979-2015) Mao believed that humans could conquer nature and that a larger population was a sign of national strength. The disastrous Great Leap Forward changed his perspective. He began to view people as a liability rather than an asset. Since the Party plans every aspect of society, Mao suggested it was time to plan the population as well. In the CCP’s lexicon, "plan" equates to control. However, the infamous one-child policy was implemented only after Mao’s death. Beginning in 1979, this policy became law. Any unauthorized pregnancy was forcibly terminated, and families who managed to have a second child faced severe penalties. In urban areas, 2nd children were often denied household registration, making them ineligible for essential social benefits, such as schooling. Pregnant women were hunted like criminals, and infanticide of baby girls became common due to traditional cultural preferences for male children, particularly in rural areas, where sons were valued for their labor and ability to carry on the family name. The policy resulted in the deaths of over 400 million unborn children and countless baby girls killed after birth. An unforeseen consequence of this "planning" was a drastically unbalanced male-to-female ratio, fueling human trafficking of women and girls. In recent years, the CCP recognized the crisis it had created: a shrinking labor force and an aging population threatening the regime’s stability. In 2015, the one-child policy was officially abandoned, and couples were encouraged to have more children. But this time, few are listening. Pix 1: grieving mother with her forcibly aborted child Pix 2: A faded propaganda poster on an old wall reading, "Bear fewer babies, plant more trees, raise more pigs," with the word "fewer" replaced by "more" to reflect the shift in policy.