‘One Child Nation’ Exposes the Tragic Consequences of Chinese Population Control

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Published 2019-08-16
Documentary filmmaker Nanfu Wang reveals the history and horror of China’s one-child policy.

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Imposed in 1979, China's one-child policy devastated generations of families. Countless children were abducted or killed, women were subjected to forced abortions and sterilizations, and millions of girls disappeared before the Communist Party finally ended the policy in 2015.

In the documentary One Child Nation, out now in select theaters and later this year on Amazon, director Nanfu Wang revisits her experience growing up in rural China in the late 1980s and '90s. The film is both a deeply personal portrait of family life under the one-child regime and a searing exposé of its draconian horrors.

One Child Nation won the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival and has earned rave reviews from critics. In it, Wang interviews both the victims and the officials responsible for enforcing the one-child policy, revealing the true devastation it wrought on all Chinese citizens, including her own family.

Wang sat down with Reason's Justin Monticello to go behind the scenes and delve deeper into some of the revelations contained in her highly-anticipated film.

Produced by Justin Monticello. Cameras by Paul Detrick and John Osterhoudt. Music by Silent Partner.

Image credits:
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Geovien So/ZUMA Press/Newscom
Andrea Verdelli/ZUMA Press/Newscom
Peng Zhaozhi Xinhua News Agency/Newscom
One Child Nation/Courtesy Amazon Studios

All Comments (21)
  • @toady7741
    Nobody wants a baby girl . . . but everyone wants a young wife or daughter in-law.
  • @zoeynot1013
    When human traffickers are considered "good guys" you know your country is passed the line of sanity.
  • @sweetbrown89
    “Well, well, well...if it isn’t the consequences of my own actions” — China, probably
  • @coffeecat8826
    I was born in Hong Kong as a second child because HK didnt have the same regulations as mainland China. When I first got to Beijing as an international middle school student, people were surprised I have a sister. It was just really sad
  • @ADUSEI6111
    When a policy is so bad human traffickers become heroes. DAMN
  • @Marklee-lx7cd
    My uncle once found a baby girl in a dust bin he just kept her now she is my baby sister we have a 10 year gap
  • @randombox8142
    I was born in Nanchang 21 yeas ago. I stayed at the orphanage 9 months and then got adopted by a family. I've had a nice life and I feel so lucky to still be alive... Next year im visiting china and my orphanage wish me luck Edit: So erm the chinese university I was going to has rejected me due to covid, however I expect to go there as soon as I can
  • @wvnder
    That grandma who made the uncle abandon his daughter was absolutely heartless
  • @rpg_neko1815
    I was born in China, and I was one of the many children who were effected by the one child policy. I was abandoned on a foot bridge in China, and later adopted by a family from America. I wouldn’t be here commenting this on Youtube if it wasn’t for them, honestly
  • @margaritam.9118
    Chinese men: we don’t have enough women! Also Chinese men: throw that baby girl in the trash and give me a son! Logic: none
  • @owlserah
    My first semester my freshman year of college, I was in a math class. We were assigned partners to do a project. My partner was a really kind guy who was from China but came to the U.S. to study abroad. We were talking about the project on Zoom when my older brother started making a ruckus in the other room. I said, "Oh man, sorry dude. That's my older brother." He gave me a look for a second as if he was surprised I had siblings, then said, "Oh, I forgot you guys have more than 1 kid here. I'm the second child and my parents had to pay a really huge fine for me." "I'm actually the youngest of three. I have two older brothers," I said. His eyes grew wide. I assumed it was because I was the third child AND a female. My parents were praying to have a girl when my mom was pregnant with me. Something like that would never happen in China. All my Chinese sisters out there, you are so beautiful and I am happy to share this earth with you. You are inherently worthy of your life and I want you to know that being female is not wrong and you are incredible. ❤
  • @sudoinstall2253
    I would say this is the biggest and longest massacre in human history
  • @roxyaedoo
    When I was like 14, I asked my Chinese neighbors why they left China, they said “you can have babies here, a house, a business... and you can keep them and they are actually yours forever” my heart broke when they explained the Chinese regime to me 😔
  • @seanfinn1046
    When I was in college, a Chinese student asked me if I had any siblings. I said "yes", and his face light up. He said "Wow! Did you like having a sibling?" I was like "sure" thinking what's wrong with this dude. It wasn't till the next day that I realized that China's one-child policy was a real thing. I was aware of the policy, but I guess I was subconsciously in denial of it.
  • @lydiad6771
    My mom had 2 abortions, one before me (because they were too broke to raise a child) and one after me (because of the one-child policy). Sometimes I dream about having an elder brother and a little sister. Rest their souls.
  • @MissGenie0607
    I’m the second child. My mom hid in the attic for most of her pregnancy. When my mom was hit by a motorcycle, she was too afraid to go to the hospital in fear that they would abort me. But she was afraid I needed that medical help anyways and went to the hospital and they told her to abort me because I was “deformed” and will be “retarded”. My mom left not believing them and continued to hide in the attic till I was born. I couldn’t go to school or have an identity. My parents bribed officials and jumped through every loop hole they found and eventually brought the whole family to America so we can live normally. People asked if I was ever going to go back to China. Hell no. The government is a shithole
  • @Ella-px1xw
    My friend was born in China. His parents left him in a parking lot and thankfully he was adopted by an Italian couple to live here in America.
  • @RoseyVamp
    When I heard human traffickers my mind immediately went to sex trafficking so when she said they where taken to orphanages my heart released a little! It’s so heart breaking hearing about the pain the one child policy caused to all Chinese citizens
  • "They who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. " - Voltaire