Romney blasts Biden's comments on China's one-child policy

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden lectures at Sichuan University during his visit to China on August 21, 2011 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China.

/ Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

Updated: 5:49 p.m. ET

GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney is blasting Vice President Joe Biden for saying he could "fully understand" China's one-child policy.

Biden, speaking in a question and answer session at Sichuan University on Monday, was commenting on China's lack of a "safety net" for seniors - a dilemma he likened to America's problems funding Medicare. He said that because of the country's one-child law, "you're in a position where one wage earner will be taking care of four retired people. Not sustainable."

"You have no safety net," he said in his remarks. "Your policy has been one which I fully understand -- I'm not second-guessing -- of one child per family."

Romney, in a Wednesday statement, called China's policy "gruesome and barbaric," and said Biden's "acquiescence to such a policy should shock the conscience of every American."

"Instead of condoning the policy, Vice President Biden should have condemned it in the strongest possible terms," Romney said in the statement. "There can be no defense of a government that engages in compulsory sterilization and forced abortions in the name of population control."

China's one-child policy was introduced to the country in 1979 as a means to control the country's growing overpopulation problem, and remains implemented in many of the nation's urban areas. The policy has been widely criticized by human rights organizations for its implication in forced abortions and female infanticide in China, as well as the country's growing gender imbalance.

House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday he was "deeply troubled" by Biden's comments, and that the policy "should not be condoned by any American official."

"I'm deeply troubled by the comments reportedly made by the Vice President yesterday regarding China's reprehensible one-child policy, which has resulted in forced sterilizations and coerced abortions and should not be condoned by any American official," he said in a statement. "No government on Earth has the authority to place quotas on the value of innocent human life, or to treat life as an economic commodity that can be regulated and taken away on a whim by the state."

A spokesperson for Biden responded on Tuesday that the vice president was, in his remarks, actually arguing against China's one-child policy.

"The Obama Administration strongly opposes all aspects of China's coercive birth limitation policies, including forced abortion and sterilization," said Biden spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff in a statement. "The Vice President believes such practices are repugnant. He also pointed out, in China, that the policy is, as a practical matter, unsustainable. He was arguing against the One Child Policy to a Chinese audience."

[rubberrezi]

Actually you should do some fact checking. Over population is not a problem in most socialist countries. In fact most socialist countries are under populated with still shrinking populations. As for Mormons I agree they are an honest industrious people but do you really want a president who believes such ludicrous things as what the Mormons believe? I want religion OUT of politics and especially government just as the forefathers did when they wrote the constitution. We have enough religion caused wars and violence going on now.

[slatep]

China is a communist country.

Any citizen who dares to speak against the government is quickly disposed of.

I actually "understand" the one-child policy, HOWEVER the abandonment of newborn babies (mostly girls) along the roadside to die is an atrocity.!!

One look at North Korea should tell you everything you need to know about how little they care about human life.

China is no different.

Ruled by people with no souls, no morals, no consciences.

China is not really any different than Libya and Syria; ruled by despots whose only care is for themselves and total control over their population.

As for Romney; he and the rest of the Republicans realize they are in big trouble in the next election, and they will seize and turn around on any comment they think will help to save them.

[tvwatcher5345]

Mr Romney, Bush had over 4,000 young Americans killed in Iraq for no reason at all (other than to fight Israel's wars and to empower Iran), where is your outrage over that??? You hypocrite!

[nclaw441]

Mr. Biden expressly said he was "not judging" China's one child policy. That's not acceptable. If you are afraid of offending the Chinese, don't mention the policy; but if you mention it, you must condemn its barbarity. China's government requires parents to get permission before having any child. Abortion for gender selection is allowed, even encouraged, and as a result Chinese men are finding it hard to find a wife. No one (with any sense) advocates having children one cannot afford, but government ought to limit its intrusion by refusing to provide benefits for excessive child-bearing, not by forcing birth control and abortion upon its citizens. Biden failed by not including this in his remarks, once the one child policy was mentioned. And no, saying it is "not sustainable" is not a sufficient rebuke.

[Dgunner]

Mr. Rommney The US has child infanticide programs they call them abortion clinics you dumb S.O B.

[mattcat25]

China has an overpopulation problem, Planned Parenthood is a necessity.

[erichsh]

This story will be gone by tomorrow morning. Compare that with the days and days of hostile coverage that Palin's "Revere" comments got.

[wfw3536]

Biden is such a dope and can't seem to do anything without putting his foot in his mouth. If Obama is to have any chance in the next election it is time to dump Biden.

[mattcat25]

One out of every four people in the world are a chinese. Take a look around the room of people you are with right now, if you don't see any chinese then it's YOU!

[euge005]

and when was the last time you heard these clowns condem the occupation of Tibet by these dictators butchers? How about the 200-600 a day they execute with out real trials? Maybe the huge military build up they are doing paid for by Wallyworld and Target's sales? Nope. Maybe the money given to the repugs elections via the chamber of corruption has something to do with that.

[lucifersshadow]

Mr. "Corporations are people" probably has not read anything about the population problem, and is therefore completely unwilling to consider that one exists . . . . but one look at the right side of the folloing shart will make it clear that there is a problem . . . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Population_curve.svg

[jgg000101]

actually, corporations ARE people as the majority of "corporations" are LLC's.

[lucifersshadow]

Majority proves nothing, and LLC's are not always one-person shows. We all know who we are talking about when we use the word "corporation".