[5][6] According to official figures, there have been at least one million families who lost their only child since the implementation of the one-child policy to the end of 2010 and it is expected to rise with 76,000 per year.
[10] In 2013, the China National Committee on Ageing reported that between 70 and 80 percent of shidu parents have suffered psychological trauma, in which half of these people are also experiencing depression.
[3] In 2002, the National People's Congress put into law that local governments must "provide necessary assistance" to shidu parents if they do not adopt or give birth to another child.
[8] Notable people, such as Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Mo Yan, have spoken out for more support to those who have lost their only child.
[2] On 21 April 2014, over 240 shidu parents assembled at the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC; having superseded the NPFPC in 2013) for an official discussion.
[2] Even though the NHFPC acknowledged their contributions to the family planning policies, they refused their request as they stated that there is no legal basis to support their requirement for administrative compensation.
[2] Incidents like the 2008 Sichuan earthquake,[9] Boston Marathon bombings,[9] and the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappearance[10] have highlighted the tremendous impact that this phenomenon has.