Compare the crude birth rate since 1920 for Thailand and China on this Gapminder chart [1]. You'll see that Thailand started with a birth rate higher than China

Compare the crude birth rate since 1920 for Thailand and China on this Gapminder chart [1]. You'll see that Thailand started with a birth rate higher than China's. In 1967 they were at around the same level at which point they both simultaneously started trending down. Thailand maintained a smooth curve down to its present level which is lower than China's. China's downward curve was interrupted in 1979 (introduction of the One Child Policy) when it curved upward for a bit. So, despite all the myth-making, China's One Child Policy was an authoritarian disaster that did not reduce births beyond their already downward trend. In fact, it disrupted the already established trend. [1] https://www.gapminder.org/tools/?from=world#$state$time$startOrigin=1920&endOrigin=2018;&entities$show$country$/$in@=chn&=tha;;;;&entities_colorlegend$filter$;;&marker$axis_x$zoomedMin=1920;&axis_y$which=crude_birth_rate_births_per_1000_population&zoomedMin:0&zoomedMax:50&scaleType=linear&spaceRef:null;&color$which=country&spaceRef=entities;;;&chart-type=linechart https://www.gapminder.org/tools/?from=world#$state$time$star...