Millions of job losses have China freaking out for a reason that would never occur to anyone in America

The Chinese government will lay off 5 million to 6 million workers over the next few years in an effort to free up cash at massive, indebted companies in the country. Its coal and steel sectors alone will fire 1.8 million people.

Naturally, this has people within the country worried. One worry, though, provoked an outcry that forced the government to respond. It's something that may never occur to people in the West, but will tell you a lot about regular Chinese people's hopes for the future, and how an economic downturn raises the specter that those hopes will be dashed.

Chinese people are afraid of the return of the one-child policy.

How do we know? Because officials have been forced to address the matter, and it's been widely publicized in China's unwaveringly on-message, state-controlled media.

Read more: Yahoo