Response of a Traditional Fishing Community to China's Family Planning Program: A Case Study

Fertility levels are relatively low, and the use of effective contraceptives is very high, among women living in a poor Chinese fishing village characterized by traditional familial institutions and values. However, most couples want and have more children than the one child advocated by the government, and women begin practicing contraception substantially later than government guidelines specify. The routine family planning program in this community is relatively weak; the principal effect of the government program is achieved through sporadic, intensive drives organized by high-level cadres from outside the community. The government's willingness to accommodate to local conditions may account to a substantial degree for the variability in reproductive behavior across rural Chinese communities. This case study illustrates the tension between government policy and persistent traditional familial values.