China is the world's most populous country with about 1.4 billion inhabitants. The one-child policy was introduced in 1979 with the aim of slowing population growth. In 2015, it was replaced by a two-child policy. Today, the population is not increasing at the rate China wants, and therefore measures such as tax relief are being discussed to increase childbirth.

The effect of the one-child policy on population development is disputed. There are several factors that affect the number of children born, such as the level of education.

- When women have longer education, they do not have as many children. And China has had such a development that women are increasingly educating themselves. So it is debated how much the policy would have had if the reduction in childbirth had not come anyway, says Björn Gustafsson, professor of social work at the University of Gothenburg.

Coercion and violence to reach the goals

In the documentary One Child Land, midwife Huaru Yuan talks about the back of the one child policy. For 20 years, she traveled around the region and performed an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 sterilizations and abortions.

- I killed a fetus in 7-8 months. They could already cry. My hands trembled when I did, but I have to carry out the country's politics, she says in the documentary.

"The policy was correct".

Shuqin Jiang also worked with sterilization and abortions. Over the years, she has received numerous national awards and honors for her work. In the documentary Ettbarnslandet she also testifies about abortions and sterilizations that took place during coercion.

- When I look back, I think the national policy was correct. It was really foresight because otherwise the country would have fallen, Shuqin Jiang said in the documentary.

See more about China and the effects of the one-child policy in the award-winning Dox documentary One Child Country. - The program will be broadcast on SVT1 on Thursday 23 January at. 22:00 and can be seen on SVT Play.