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Our correspondent reflects on the alarming similarities between the implementation of the one-child policy in China, and the imposition of heavy-handed public health policies in Australia. People are being driven by fear to comply with state control over their bodies.

Many of you have heard about the one-child policy in China, but you probably don’t know how it was implemented.

There were times when it was tightened or relaxed over its course from the 1980s to early 2000s, and it caused enormous physical and psychological trauma, as well as financial stress, for several generations of Chinese families.

Draconian Measures

During its peak, people, especially married women, were mandated to have contraception such as IUD (intrauterine devices) after having one child, and to be sterilised through tubal ligation after having two children.

On many occasions, people were requested to show evidence of having complied with such measures. I will list just a few examples here:

• To keep their job or to get a promotion;
• To register their child with the “Single Child Certificate”, allowing privileges other families couldn’t access, such as schooling selection benefits, etc;
• To register their child as a “legally born person” to receive any government welfare;
• And many more.

There were also many cases where pregnant mothers were mandated to have an abortion so they might be allowed to keep their job; or, if they don’t have a job, to keep themselves or the fathers out of jail.

Propaganda

It was such a widely accepted belief that “people with multiple children are usually under-educated, old-fashioned, and struggle with poverty.” Media and artists played comedy shows to mock people who fled from their hometowns so that they could be somewhere nobody knew them and have more than one child.

I grew up in China during this era.

I had an unborn sibling (or siblings) aborted, because their existence threatened the livelihood of the rest of the family.

“How could such laws be implemented?” you may ask. “Were the Chinese governments (central and local) particularly controlling and cruel? Were the Chinese people particularly gullible and obedient, that they could allow such things happen to themselves?”

I would probably have answered “Yes” to these questions prior to 2021.

Before that, I thought I had been set free since moving to Australia. In this country, I could choose what to believe in, openly express my views on current affairs, have as many children as I wish, and choose what to put into my body.

Sensible Policies

When COVID-19 first hit Australia in 2020, I was very proud of how the Federal Government and many Liberal states handled the issue; schools stayed open for families who needed them, businesses were allowed to continue wherever they could, people could go out for exercise and carry on with their lives. People were given choices while they were trusted to do the right things to protect themselves and their communities.

I was proud to be able to live in Australia, while feeling sympathetic for my fellow Chinese people who lived in long lockdowns, loss of livelihood, being arrested for exercising outside without a mask, and having to scan in and out wherever they went.

In early 2020, many Chinese people who live in Australia were heavily criticising the relatively relaxed Australian government COVID policies, saying that Australia should just “copy the homework of China”, which is the only way to handle the threat of COVID. However, as the year progressed and the situation improved, they were able to see the credibility of choosing an alternative path.

Lost Freedoms

Things took a sharp turn in early 2021, when the COVID vaccines became available.

Strict lockdowns continued in Labor states, and even in Liberal states, people started being mandated to wear masks and stricter check-in rules.

Some of my friends and colleagues started to worry about the vaccines being mandated for work. I was not happy with how things were developing, but was still feeling very calm and confident — even the Chinese central government was not mandating the vaccines and urged local authorities and organisations not to mandate it. These are vaccines in the experimental phase. There is no long-term evidence to suggest that they are safe and effective. Surely the Australian governments would not do it.

However, only a few weeks later, I was told at work that I would need to either comply with the vaccine mandate or lose my employment.

This felt like déjà vu.

I could see the patterns.

Scare Tactics

Over the decades, Chinese people complied with the one-child policy because the Chinese government had them believe that overpopulation was a huge threat to the whole nation — we would run out of food and resources to survive if we didn’t severely reduce the growth of our population. The Policy was our ONLY solution. Furthermore, having fewer children helps families to be better off, with a better quality of life, and it helps the whole country to develop and modernise.

The government achieved this “common understanding” throughout society by bombarding people with propaganda: banners with slogans on walls, pictures of a happy father and mother with one child, speeches and formal letters from the authorities. There were no alternative opinions available in the public square. It was all about conveying one message:

“Do this. It’s good for you, your loved ones and the community.”

What about here in Australia? Why are most Australian people complying with the COVID mandates?

State of Fear

The Australian government tells us that COVID is a huge threat to the whole country — we could be very sick and die if infected with COVID. There is no effective medicine or treatment to cure this disease. The vaccines are the ONLY solution. Taking the vaccines helps to keep everyone safe, to keep the community safe, and it helps the whole country to open up again so people can have their freedoms back.

The government achieved this “common understanding” in our society by bombarding people with propaganda via our mainstream news outlets. There have been no alternative opinions allowed in the public square. Anyone speaking a different view is discredited or penalised. It has all been about conveying one message:

“Do this. It’s good for you, your loved ones and the community.”

False Sense of Security

Besides the past few years, Australians have had a pretty stable system of government for a long time — and therefore they have little reason for distrusting this system. The government also provides plenty of welfare, making people feel they are being looked after.

Because of this, people have put their faith in the government in Australia and other Western democratic systems. As long as they can have comfortable lives and the right to vote, Australians believe they still hold the power over their government — therefore they feel a sense of security, and happily follow strict directions from government bureaucrats without asking too many questions.

However, what many Australian people don’t realise is that their power over the government is weakened the moment they stop asking questions. The power turns when the media stop working for the people, instead suppressing debate and eliminating different opinions in the public square. They have now become propaganda machines for the government.

I have lived in a country without freedom of speech, and I have seen how easily a government can control people’s thoughts through propaganda and tyranny.

I’m concerned that Australia is heading down the same road. We need to stand up for our precious rights and freedoms before it is too late!

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Photos shared anonymously on overseas Chinese social media platforms.
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