One-child policy: how China's past is shaping its future

China’s infamous One-Child policy taught us how far the CPC (Communist Party of China) is willing to go to ensure that critical political demands are met. The Party has been all about population control since a little after the mid-twentieth century and now, at a time when the political and social sentiment towards birth-control methods and abortions in western societies are radically changing and floating towards more conservative ideals, the fear that the anti-natalist State power in China might reverse to extreme pro-natalist policies may become a reality in a matter of a few years or a couple decades. This thesis will start by illustrating the phenomena that caused one of the most memorable and wide-scale “violation of sexual and reproductive rights” (as described by Amnesty International) to be put into effect: the One-Child Policy. While some still proclaim it was a necessary mean to reach the current state of booming economy and prosperity that China now enjoys, others are starting to question the need for such strict measures. After a brief historical dissertation on the subject, this paper is going to discuss the consequences that this policy had on today’s Chinese society and will further analyse what these could possibly entail for the future of the country and its citizens. Moreover, a translation analysis of some of the subtitles made for the documentary “One Child Nation” is going to be presented, along with the theory behind it. The aim of the thesis is to provide an insight into this delicate and intricate matter: the reasons it was implemented, how the Party decided to carry it out and what this means and will mean for China.