China's one child policy: what happens if you have twins?

Question

Just wondering, if you had two or more babies at once what would happen to the second one?

Answer 1

The law says that couples are allowed to have one "live-birth" - that usually works out to one child. They can apply to the government for a permit to have more than one child - if they 'prove' they have enough status and finances to support the added child then they can have another one. If both parents have post-graduate degrees they are allowed to have two children. If a man or woman have a child from a previous marriage, they are still allowed to have one child in their new marriage. If their child dies they are permitted to have another child. As for multiple births (twins, triplets, etc) they count as one birth and are accepted. Twins are considered good luck (even the girls).

Ethnic minorities (and foreigners) are not required to follow this law... only the Han Chinese.

If you know something about the Chinese government you will know that policy is rarely enforced. In many places there are families with more than one child. They pay a token fine. In reality, large fines are rare, but are covered by the state-run media as a propaganda campaign - incentive for people to follow the law. Most of the middle class families I have been in contact have two kids. Almost all of the poor rural families I have been in contact with have more than two kids. (For 5 years I taught in rural and suburban elementary schools)

The problem isn't the governments law. The problem is the cultural idea that boys are better. I've heard more than one story of a woman being threatened by her mother in law, that unless she provides a son, her husband will divorce her. (Of course, we all know that it is the men who contribute the Y chromosome... but this doesn't seem to matter).

Orphanages raise the children of un-wed mothers as few un-wed mothers have the resources to support themselves, let alone another human. There are also a great deal of older children (boys and girls) whose families couldn't afford them and are forced to give them up - rather than have them starve to death. A number of children are abandoned because they have disabilities that the family doesn't have the resources to deal with. Many families live in absolute poverty, and while the kids (usually girls) aren't given up, they may have had a better life if they were.

Married women will generally get the sex of the baby while pregnant... they can then abort it if they don't want it (this is now illegal, but it is still often done for a 'fee' to the doctor).

Now that the level of education has raised (and women have more autonomy) the idea of having daughters is becoming more and more accepted, especially in urban areas. It's slow, but it is happening.

This is a note to all the people who answered this question (and other similar questions) ... If you want to complain about a country having stifling laws and strange practices, why don't you put down your bag of potato chips, get up off the couch and make a contribution to humanity?

No, I don't like China's one-child policy. But I see the desperate situation they saw when the made it (millions of people dying of starvation annually because the population was exponentially bigger than the production – too much competition for limited resources). I see the cultural struggle they have with it. I see the women who sit at the doctors office praying for some kind of divine intervention before going through with an abortion. No issue is ever as simple as you think it is.

Answer 2

China One Child Policy Twins

Answer 3

First, China is big on having boys. A family with a girl first would be allowed to try a second time for a boy. If they end up with two girls, they may get fined for the second child.

Twin boys hits the lottery.

It's not that they kill babies, but it is a social taboo to have more than one or two. It's just as much a peer pressure thing as it is a governmental issue. Families with more than one child are required to pay economic penalties and might be denied bonuses at their workplace.

Basically the Chinese government feels 'One is good, two is OK (if first was a girl and second is a boy) and three is too many'

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
China's one child policy: what happens if you have twins?
Just wondering, if you had two or more babies at once what would happen to the second one?

Answer 5

I live in China and have met plenty of twins and there is no problem.

There are many large families in China still, I have met many people from country towns from families of 8. Also people working on the grand canal have the right to have as many children as they want.

Also there is a fee (not a fine) for people with more than one child. The fee is not expensive for professionals to avoid.

Yes there are still some negative issues with the one child policy in China. Some local governments have forced women to have abortions to keep their statistics down and get themselves promoted to high positions.

Answer 6

In most rural areas, they allow a second child, if more then the families have to pay a fine, or they won't get work bonuses or their second child cannot receive education. In urban areas, they are more strict with the one-child policy and so families would give up their second child for adoption.

Answer 7

Currently, China counts the twins as one-child... but I have heard horror stories where a couple had twins and had to pay hefty fines (try $90,000) for the "inconvenience". I think that part of the policy varies by area in China.

Answer 8

ohh we just learned this in World Geography. I'm pretty sure that my teacher said that it's alright, because the one child policy states that you can have ONE successful pregnancy. they don't kill it. nowadays, you usually have to pay a fine for a 2nd child, but i'm pretty sure that it's ok if you have twins :D

Answer 9

its not a one child policy, its a one birth policy. so if you have twins in one birth, its ok.

Answer 10

I think that China is such a screwed and backwards society. I thank G-D that I wasn't born there.