China Population

With a population officially just over 1.3 billion and an estimated growth rate of about 0.6%, China is very concerned about its population growth and has attempted with mixed results to implement a strict birth limitation policy. China’s 2002 Population and Family Planning Law and policy permit one child per family, with allowance for a second child under certain circumstances, especially in rural areas, and with guidelines looser for ethnic minorities with small populations. Enforcement varies, and relies largely on "social compensation fees" to discourage extra births. Official government policy opposes forced abortion or sterilization, but in some localities there are instances of forced abortion. The government's goal is to stabilize the population in the first half of the 21st century, and current projections are that the population will peak at around 1.6 billion by 2050. ... [Read More]

UNFPA China Program

The Government of the United States is disappointed that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has decided to continue to provide financial and technical assistance to the Chinese birth limitation program under the direction of China’s National Population and Family Planning Commission. We have made our views known at the UNFPA Board meeting, which is currently reviewing the proposed new country program for China. ...

The United States understands that UNFPA does not approve of these policies. Nonetheless, UNFPA’s continuing support for the Chinese coercive birth-limitation program unfortunately provides a de facto UN "seal of approval" on these activities. UNFPA should insist that all coercion end in the counties where it operates. Chinese birth limitation laws and policies are inconsistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with the commitments undertaken by the Government of China at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. ... [Read More]

One-Child Policy in China

A national Law on Population and Birth Planning went into effect on September 1, 2002. The law provides that the state shall employ measures to place population growth under control, improve the quality of the population, and conduct birth planning. The law requires married couples to employ birth control measures. While provinces have some latitude in how they implement certain aspects of the law, it also requires counties to use specific measures to limit the total number of births in each county. ... [Read More]

Report of the China UNFPA Independent Assessment Team

2Note: "It may be actual, direct, or positive, as where physical force is used to compel to act against one’s will, or implied, legal, or constructive, as where one party is constrained by subjugation to other to do what his free will would refuse." Black’s Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, 1990, p. 258.We were told that SFPC-UNFPA negotiations over the joint program took three years, of which three months were spent on three paragraphs that center on birth control quotas and targets, as well as coercive issues. Nevertheless, ample evidence exists of heavy-handed abusive and coercive practices outside the 32 counties since 1995:The June 10, 1998 testimony before the House Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights within the House International Relations Committee of former SFPC official in Fujian Province Gao Xiaoduan and the documents/forms she submi ... [Read More]

China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)

Chinese officials asserted that 95 percent of Tibet's officially registered population was Tibetan, with Han and other ethnic groups making up the remaining 5 percent. However, officials acknowledged that these figures did not include the large number of "temporary" Han residents, including military and paramilitary troops and their dependents, many of whom had lived in Tibet for years. Many observers estimated that more than half of Lhasa's population was Han Chinese, and even official estimates put the number of temporary Han Chinese residents at over 100,000; elsewhere in Tibet, the Han percentage of the population was significantly lower. In rural areas, the Han presence often was negligible. ... [Read More]

China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)

According to China's 2000 census, the population of Tibetans in the TAR was 2,427,168. The population of Tibetans in autonomous prefectures and counties outside the TAR was 2,927,372. Tibetans made up 94 percent of the population of the TAR. Government-sponsored development and the prospect of new economic opportunities attracted migrant workers from China's large transient population to the region, resulting in a net increase in the non-Tibetan share of the population (chiefly China's Muslim Hui minority and Han Chinese) from approximately 4 percent in 1990 to 6 percent in 2000. However, census figures did not include a large number of long-term Han Chinese residents, such as cadres, skilled workers, unskilled laborers, military and paramilitary troops, and their dependents. In Tibetan areas outside the TAR, Tibetans increased their majority share as natural population growth outpaced net migration by non-Tibetans. Migrants to the TAR were overwhelmingly concentrated ... [Read More]

Internet Resources -- Chapter 3, Environmental Education Volume

Exploitable Content Content that can be used to create theme-related lessons: http://www.populationinstitute.org/issue.html Facts and Figures on the Population Issue Fact sheet with figures on overpopulation, deforestation, water scarcity, and famine. ... [Read More]

China (Includes Hong Kong and Macau)

Rapid economic growth, the expanding tourism industry, and the introduction of more modern cultural influences also have disrupted traditional living patterns and customs and threatened traditional Tibetan culture. In Lhasa the Chinese cultural presence is obvious and widespread. Buildings are of Chinese architectural style; the Chinese language is spoken widely, and Chinese characters are used in most commercial and official communications. Many observers estimate that more than half of Lhasa's population is Han Chinese; elsewhere in the TAR, the Han percentage of the population is significantly lower. In rural areas, the Han presence often is negligible. Chinese officials assert that 95 percent of Tibet's officially registered population is Tibetan, with Han and other ethnic groups making up the remaining 5 percent. Officials report that these figures do not include the large number of "temporary" Han residents, including military and paramilitary troops and their dependents, many of ... [Read More]

FY 2004 Funding for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell sent a report to Congress July 16 on China's birth limitation policy and the United Nations Population Fund's assistance to China. By separate letter, the Secretary also communicated to Congress his finding that the Kemp-Kasten Amendment is applicable again for 2004 to funding for the United Nations Population Fund. This decision means that this organization will not receive the $34 million earmarked for its activities by Congress for the current fiscal year. ... [Read More]