Enacted in 1980, the one child policy was designed to allow China's development to forge ahead. Demographers estimate that at between 100 and 400 million births were averted as a direct result of this policy, and some Chinese argue that this has helped China achieve the momentous task of lifting over 550 million people out of poverty. However, the policy has been controversial, with accusations of human rights abuses in implementation, unusually high sex ratios at birth, as well as concerns about the social implications of a generation of single children.

On Monday 25 May, acclaimed journalist and novelist Ms Xue Xinran joined Lowy Institute East Asia program Director Merriden Varrall in a conversation about how the one child policy, introduced in 1978, is affecting the Chinese social, economic, and political landscape.

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