World-class monster: China's one-child policy czar reviled even in her death

"Vile woman". "World-class monster". "Evil". Social media platforms have been filled with anger and criticism rather than condolences following the death of China's one-child policy czar, Peng Peiyun. Peng, who was tasked with enforcing the draconian policy from 1980-2015, has become the subject of hate as her death reopened old wounds over the long-abandoned population control measure.

Peng died on December 21 in Beijing, with the Chinese Communist Party calling her an "outstanding leader" in population policy and women's and children's issues. However, for lakhs of Chinese citizens, her passing was a moment of reckoning. Several users took to Weibo and X to recount the pain and trauma that their mothers or close ones underwent during the controversial population control drive.

"Yesterday this world-class monster died... During her 10 years of leadership, tens of millions of government-forced abortions were performed. May hell hold her tight forever!" a user, Bin Xie, tweeted.

THE CONTROVERSIAL ONE-CHILD POLICY

The one-child policy, which was implemented in 1980, was withdrawn in 2015 as China's population shrank and the number of aged people rose at an alarming rate. It fell behind India in 2023 as the most populous country. Last year, China's population declined to 1.39 billion, with experts warning that the dip would continue in the years to come.

To arrest the crisis, China gradually introduced a two-child policy and then expanded it to three in 2021. While the one-child rule may have gone, the wounds of the past have lingered on. Peng's death only fuelled the outburst.

Another user, going by the name Xi Van Fleet, called the population-control program a "state-imposed mass murder".

"It terminated about 400 million unborn lives and subjected more than 200 million people to forced sterilisation. Millions of women were persecuted, and families were shattered for violating the policy. The policy did not merely end individual lives; it ended China's future growth," the post said.

"Since the early 1970s, more than 60 million babies have been aborted under this framework," he further said.

SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS

The policy period saw women, especially those in rural areas, enduring forced abortions and sterilisations. Those opposing it were beaten and abused by local enforcers. The period was also marked by slipshod medical procedures for contraception. A CNN report said around 20 million baby girls "disappeared" due to sex-selective abortions or infanticide.

"Those children who were lost, naked, are waiting for you over there in the afterlife," a person posted on China's popular microblog Weibo. A screengrab of the post has gone viral.

Another Chinese scholar posted, "Peng Peiyun has the blood of tens of millions of preborn and newborn children on her hands."

"All should remember this vile woman! The wronged souls of your unborn brothers and sisters will never forgive her!" tweeted another user, Park Sangen.

When Peng was assigned the task, she called it the "hardest job under heaven". In 2010, her views changed, and she publicly said the one-child policy should be eased. However, her death has reopened old wounds in China, underscoring how deep the scars of the one-child policy still run.

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