Interview with Qiaoyi by Xinyi

Qiaoyi Zhu is my roommate and friend, who is also from China. I interviewed her about the policy of One Child this afternoon.

Qiaoyi and I

Hello, Qiaoyi. Can I ask you some questions about the policy of One Child? Maoqi and I set up a blog about this policy last week. The main topic is whether we should abolish this policy. You can have any opinion and tell me whatever you want to say.

1.      Is this a problem you think is important? Why/ Why not?

s   Yes, I really think it is a very important problem for us now. Although the government is trying to find out a better way for the sake of people’s request all the time, many people cannot be satisfied. For example, the government says if both of the man and the woman are the only child in their family, they can have two children. This new rule came out because there were many emergencies or accidents happened to children these years, which left tragedies in these poor families. However, there are still many people not included into it. I think how many children to have is nothing about the status or conditions of the couple. Every family should have the right to have two children in case something bad happens.

2.      Do you think others in our community this is an important problem? Why/ Why not?

s   Yes. I can always find that many people like talking about this policy in my community, especially parents. It is one policy connecting with their life tightly. Moreover, as people’s educational levels are higher and higher, they know much more things than before. They have their own opinions and ideas, which means they will not follow the government without questioning. They begin to think about the relationship between them and the country. What the government does on this policy decides how their future life will be and also how the country will develop. So this is really an important problem for all of the people. That’s why so many people are focusing on this problem for so many years.

3.      What policy, if any, does government now have to deal with this problem?

s   Just as what I said in the first question, the government promulgates the law to build up happier family considering the high rate of accidents on children. It is quite good to a certain degree and it means the government begins to think about the new problems coming out recently. In addition, the government formulates one policy about medical insurance and one about compulsory education. I think these two are also the acts showing the changes of the government.

4.      What are advantages of this policy?

s   Based on different status and conditions of the couple, the couple can have one or two children: it decreases the sadness of children’s sudden accidents. It also shows that the policy of one child is much more flexible than before. People’s rights are put in a higher place now as well.

s   Medical insurance: the family which has only one child enjoys the right to go to see doctors and buy medicine with less money.

s   Compulsory education: it insures that the children in the family with only one child can get good education.

5.      What are disadvantage of this policy?

s   Based on different status and conditions of the couple, the couple can have one or two children: not all of the people are included.

s   The privileges in medical insurance and education may cause many illegal events to take advantage of these policies.

6.      How might the policy be improved?

s   All kinds of family can have two children if they want.

s   The force to supervise should be stronger so that there will be fewer illegal matters happening.

7.      Does the policy need to be replaced? Why?

s   No. They are the only suitable policy to our society now. Because of the special situation in China, we have to continue using these policies.

8.      What disagreements, if any, about the policy exist in this community?

s   They may be used by some illegal persons.

9.      Where can I get more information about this problem and the different positions people take on this problem？

s   The government’s website; newspaper; books and so on. As for the different positions people take on this problem, I think you can interview more people or just make a research about this problem in the community or online.

Thank you, Qiaoyi!

Reflection:

After interviewing Qiaoyi, I find that the policy of one child is really a serious and complicated problem. We both think we cannot abolish this policy now because of the situations in China currently. However, to limit the birth of children by laws is also not a proper way. As for how to do, it needs a long way to find out the answer. According to Qiaoyi's interview, I also think about that I do need to ask other people in different ages so that I can get various of opinions.