What About Us? / 我们呢？

China’s One-Child Policy (OCP) was enforced nationwide in 1980, lasting for 35 years until it ended in 2016. It was designed as a temporary solution to stop China’s population growth and facilitate economic growth. It is also considered the largest and most concentrated government planned population control program in human history. For many researchers, the OCP was considered a unique case study that covers demographics, authority, and macroeconomic planning (Feng et al. 2016). For me, this issue is extremely personal to my identity. I was born in 2007, which was still during the time under this restrictive policy. I, fortunately, was adopted out of China as a baby into a loving family and became a U.S. citizen. However, many were not as lucky as me. I created this quilt to spread awareness about this inhumane policy and give tribute to all of the millions of lives that were affected by China’s corrupt family planning methods. The One-Child Policy was much more than an administrative policy controlling population numbers. It was an infringement on human rights, traumatizing many generations. 

China used extreme measures to enforce their birth quotas. Couples had to obtain permits before conception. After having their first child, many couples were also forced to undergo post-birth contraception. If a woman was pregnant with a second child, she was usually forced to abort it, even during late terms, causing both emotional and physical scars (Skalla 2004). The Chinese government also used propaganda and societal pressure on its citizens to foster fear and shame towards having more than one child. Additionally, they used legal tactics to enforce their policy, placing large fines, preventing employment, or imprisoning couples that broke their law. The “out-of-quota” babies that were not aborted or abandoned were called 黑孩子(hēiháizi) or “black children.” They were denied registration and passports, as well as basic public services like education and healthcare (Cai and Feng 2021). An example of the Chinese government’s enforcement of this law was in 1983 where China registered 20 million babies. Of those 20, 14 million babies were aborted and 16 million women were sterilized (Feng et al. 2016). These babies are called “missing children” due to the fact millions of children are lost because of forced abortions and abandonment (Skalla 2004).

The extreme female infanticide and sex-selective abortion created a skewed demographic where there is around 20 to 40 million more Chinese men than women (Feng et al. 2016). This has led to not enough spouses for the men in China. These men are called “Bare Branches,” as well as, “Little Emperors” because of the extreme attention and spoiling (Potts 2006). Because of the difference between men and women, and the pampering of Chinese men, criminality and exploitation of women have increased amongst the men. Mail order brides have become a popular way for Chinese men to find spouses. There has been an increase of kidnapping and human trafficking of girls both in China and in other countries. Vulnerable women from countries like Myanmar, Vietnam, and Laos are deceived, kidnapped, and sold into forced marriages inside of China (Abrahamson 2016). Even though the OCP ended in 2016, women, today, are still being victimized by the policy and its consequences. 

In 2016, the One-Child Policy transitioned into a two-child policy, and in recent years, has expanded to allowing three children. This was done after researchers examined that their birth rates were now plunging and their population aging, leading to concern about the economic state of China. Ironically, the OCP was placed in 1983 because of the same concern about the economy. The OCP was not a policy based on extensive research of demographics and overall wealth of society, but a rushed political decision based on greed. Currently, China still has not been able to reverse their decreasing birth rates. Extremely low fertility rates has become a perpetual issue caused by socioeconomic factors like high urban housing costs, intense educational pressures, and occupational penalties for mothers, discouraging couples from having children (Cai and Feng 2021).

For my quilt, I mainly use the color white intentionally. While many Americans associate the color red with China and might question why I would use white, in Chinese culture, the color white represents mourning and death and is widely used for funerals, differing from the use of Black in western culture. I use a white background to reflect this custom and to emphasize to the viewer that this period in China was a time of profound loss and grieving. Similarly, I used an embroidery machine for the white flower as it represents the loss of the pure and innocent children in their mothers’ womb. A place that should be the origin of life has become a memorial site because of forced abortions.

Contrastingly, I used red fabric and used a sewing machine back stitch red thread for the silhouette of the pregnant mother. In Chinese culture, red represents good fortune, joy, prosperity and, for women, fertility. The women in China deserve all of what the color red represents, which is why I use it for the pregnant woman on my quilt. But, it also serves a contrasting color for the white background to highlight the tense and violent environment that Chinese women were surrounded by because of the OCP. 

Finally, the quilt displays hand-stitched captions: one in English saying, “What about us?” and its Chinese translation, “我们呢?” (Wǒmen ne?). Both captions were done in satin stitches to make sure the message stood out. The Chinese translation is written vertically to commemorate how Chinese characters historically used to be written vertically on bamboo sheets. I used the yellow fabric to highlight the word “us” in both Chinese and English. I outlined the word “about” with backstitches instead of satin stitches to represent the erasure of the missing Chinese children's lives and identities. I include both languages so my English viewers can understand what the children are saying. It is an unanswerable question because there is no justifiable explanation that can be provided. The missing Children had the right to live, and the women had the right to be mothers. The OCP is an example of the price people pay when they are viewed as numbers, instead of individuals.

Ultimately, I chose the One-Child Policy as the issue I was going to address on my quilt to honor all of the missing children and the women who were exploited during this period, to bring awareness about this violent policy to Americans, and to educate myself about the policy I was born under while growing my appreciation for the life I was given. 

Works Cited

Abrahamson, Peter. 2016. “End of an Era? China’s One‐Child Policy and Its Unintended Consequences.” Asian Social Work and Policy Review 10 (3): 326–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/aswp.12101.

Cai, Yong, and Wang Feng. 2021. “Downloaded From Www.Annualreviews.Org. Guest (Guest) IP: The Social and Sociological Consequences of China’s One-Child Policy.” Annual Review of Sociology 47 (pp. 586–606). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-090220-.

Feng, Wang, Baochang Gu, and Yong Cai. 2016. “The End of China’s One‐Child Policy.” Studies in Family Planning 47 (1): 83–86. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4465.2016.00052.x.

Potts, Malcolm. 2006. “China’s One Child Policy.” BMJ: British Medical Journal 333 (7564): 361–62. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40699586.

Skalla, Nicole. 2004. “Issue 1 Article 8 2004: Illegal Children and the Family Planning Law, 30 Brook.” Brooklyn Journal of International Law 30 (1). https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1316&context=bjil.