This reflective piece explores personal and political interconnectedness through the lens of international
adoption in the wake of China’s One-Child Policy (OCP). The OCP was officially terminated in 2016 and
subsequently replaced by a two-child policy, which ended in 2021 (Reuters, 2021). Despite this, the topic
tends to be presented in Western educational settings as a distant historical phenomenon, with the
contemporary legacy being overlooked. The OCP’s legacy cannot solely be quantitatively analysed.
Therefore, this is a reflective analysis piece investigating how different policies have impacted my life and
lived experiences. Born during a time of strict population control and later adopted by a family in the
United Kingdom (UK), I examine how policies made at a governmental level rippled through generations:
shaping identity, belonging, and emotional inheritance. Through reflection on my own experiences of
abandonment, cultural displacement, and the deep bonds formed across distance and difference, I
consider how the consequences of state decisions extend far beyond borders and lifetimes.