Source from WRIC 03/16/2016
March 15, 2016, two NGO organizations Women’s Rights in China (WRIC) and Women’s Rights Without Frontiers (WRWF) collaborated to hold “Form on the Rights of Chinese Women and Children” in New York. Nearly a hundred attendants including US-based human rights activists, scholars and journalists were at the forum.
Caption: Pictures of the meeting Forum on the rights of Chinese Women and Children
(CNN)China will allow two children for every couple, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported Thursday, a move that would effectively dismantle the remnants of the country’s one-child policy that had been eased in recent years.
“To promote a balanced growth of population, China will continue to uphold the basic national policy of population control and improve its strategy on population development,” Xinhua reported, citing a communique issued by the ruling Communist Party.
“China will fully implement the policy of ‘one couple, two children’ in a proactive response to the issue of an aging population.”
Xinhua said the proposal needs to be approved by the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, in March before it can be enacted.
According to Lu Jiehua, a sociologist at Peking University, the policy will affect 100 million couples.
China, now a nation of more than 1.3 billion people, instituted a policy of one child per couple to control population growth in the 1970s.
Why the policy update is no silver bullet for economy
When its propaganda didn’t work, local officials resorted to abortions, heavy fines and forced sterilization.
The decision to end the restriction followed a four-day strategy meeting of senior Communist Party officials at a Beijing hotel, CNN’s former China correspondent David McKenzie said.
He has said the move was foreshadowed by a change in the propaganda: While old advertisements depicted parents doting on one child, he said, a recent commercial showed a boy begrudgingly sharing a toy with his younger sister.
Human rights group Amnesty International issued a statement warning that the change in policy was “not enough.”
“Couples that have two children could still be subjected to coercive and intrusive forms of contraception, and even forced abortions — which amount to torture,” China researcher William Nee said.
“The state has no business regulating how many children people have,” he said.
Is China’s policy update too little, too late?
China began relaxing the controversial policy in January 2014, allowing couples to have a second baby if the mother or father was an only child.
The move was hailed as a major liberalization of the three-decades-old restriction, but new figures released in January 2015 suggested that fewer people than expected were taking the plunge and expanding their family.
Nationwide, nearly 1 million couples eligible under the new rules had applied to have a second child, state media reported at the time. Health officials had said that the policy would lead to as many as 2 million new births when the policy change was first announced, and it wasestimated that 11 million couples were eligible.
Two kids? Thanks but no, say some Chinese
China’s government has said the country could become home to the most elderly population on the planet in just 15 years, with more than 400 million people over the age of 60.
Researchers say the graying population will burden health care and social services, and the world’s second-largest economy will struggle to maintain its growth.
For China, three decades of one-child policy proves hard to undo
“China has already begun to feel an unfolding crisis in terms of its population change,” Wang Feng, a professor at Fudan University and a leading demographic expert on China, told McKenzie earlier this year.
“History will look back to see the one-child policy as one of the most glaring policy mistakes that China has made in its modern history.”
Wang said the one-child policy was ineffective and unnecessary, since China’s fertility rates were already slowing by the 1980s.
Chen Kun, male, 7 years old, home address No.66 Pike Tree Bay, Luhua Village, Baituo Town, Qingshui County, Gansu Province. First-grade student at Baituo Town Yuping Center Primary School, missing after school at 11:30 on 8 May, 2014, wearing a checkered shirt, black velvet trousers, black velvet shoes. Kind-hearted people, please help find him. Contact no. (family) 13579299613 (teacher) 13993831358.
Xin yanlin, female, born 11 March, 2009, missing from Xian City Gaojiabao since 25 July, 13 with no clues found. Small eyes with short hair, wearing a red-and-white checkered dress with black tights. Loves laughing, eyes form two seams, single eyelids. RMB $50000 as gift of gratitude for those who can provide true information and RMB $100000 for bringing her home. Tel. 1344804066. The child knows her name, she will nod her head when you call her name, and she knows her father is Xin Yunliang and Mother is Cui Huifang.
Tonight, Wenzhou Bridge Police Station received report of a case of a 7-year-old daughter missing since 7am on the way from Jiaotou Building to Galaxy Kindergarten. Her name is Zhang Sisi, wearing a denim coat and jeans. Her family is extremely anxious, and hopes anyone who knows anything about the case immediately contact Wenzhou Bridge Police Station:.
Bai Yong, 5 years old, lives in No.2, Daijia Tan, Yumen Town, Yumen City, Gansu Province. Missing when playing alone at entrance of home since 22 March, 2014, wearing a red-and-white checkered coat, dark brown jeans, black sports shoes. Can speak Mandarin, but mainly with a Gansu Dingxi accent. Hope anyone who knows anything about the case please contact his father Bai Xinjun, (Weibo: Wuyan) Tel. 13830770731～13014101920.
Urgent! Looking for Zhu Haorong, born in 2008, missing since 26 Feb, 2014 across a large supermarket in Daliang Town, Shende District, Foshan, Guangdong. Height around 1.1 m, with large eyes, single eyelids, a pointy chin and a scar at the edge of his left eye. Autistic, weak in communicating with other. Wearing a light blue and black vest over uniform of South China Daycare Centre (yellow and black stripped), and wearing slippers when missing.
Suan Junyun, male, 10 years old, left Room 912, No.8 Dongpu Road, Bucong Village, Shajing Street, Baoan District, Shenzhen on 2 Mar., 14 and missing since. Anyone who knows anything about the case please contact Shajing Police Station 0755-27729110.
Looking for abducted child Wu Mingsong! Male, 7 years old, abducted at the starting end of the Old Bridge under Hailian, Chenghai, Shantou, Guangdong on 10 Mar, 12! He is from Xianju, Tiazhou, in Zhejiang and can write his own name. Interview with his parents can be found at: http://t.cn/zOiVbt7. Kind-hearted folks please help forward and pay attention to any clues! Tel. 13211253080.
Yuan Yongquan, male, 5 years old, missing after wandering away at Guandu Town market, Botou District, Zhanjiang City, Guangdong on 29 Jan., 14 at 4-5pm. Height 1 m, Weight about 30 kg, with short hair, slightly thin, single whorl on head, single eyelids, large area burnt on right thigh, accent of local dialect. Wearing red velvet coat, light blue velvet trousers, navy green shoes when missing. Can name father, mother and teacher and tell where he lives. Contact person: Yuan Riqiang 15113601583.
Han 
Xiangyang, from Jinger Village, Yuanlong Town, Maiji District, Tianshui City, Gansu. Male, 7 years old, about 1m tall, missing since 23 Jan., 14, wearing gray cotton-padded jacket, yellow pants, black warming shoes, if there are any informants, please call us, we will surely thank you! For the happiness of a family, please be active and help forward! 18520811896 13434790279 13993859205
Lixin, 6 years old, abducted at Jingshanchen Village, Changcheng Industrial District, Yonghang on 21 Jan., 14 5 pm. Parents are extremely anxious, posting missing person notices everywhere. Seeing his father’s tears, hope Xiaoqiang can help, and let more people read this message, thank you! If anyone saw this child, please contact 13588612279.
Author: Scholar Yang Zhizhu ( Collaborator of WRIC) 2014-01-22
According to reports from Beijing News on January 21, 2014, ” Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Supreme Court, Ministry of Public Security and other departments are working to improve the Minors’ custody intervention policies and initial propositions are expected to release within the year”. The foreword in the report (“Parents endangering well being of children will have their guardianship deprived”) listed the following as examples; the starving child incident in 2013, Bijie trash poisoning incident in 2012 and Yang Shihai’s years of abuse to his own daughter in Jinsha, Guizhou. This article is frequently quoted and shared among netizens, which leads to overwhelmingly skewed public opinion.
Yet based on my understanding towards current Chinese children’s rights situation and system, tightening state intervention for domestic violation comes with legitimate concerns. Another pressing issue would be planning the next steps after ordering the deprivation of parental guardianship. Irresponsible parents may not be the most reasonable, putting adoptive parents in a difficult position, fear that the born parents may cause them chaos for taking away their victimized children? Besides, the current adoption policy states that the adoptees are neither orphans nor abandoned and taking them in will leave the adoptive parents with no extra birth quota left to bear their own child. Hence after having their birth parents’ custody taken away the children can only be fostered by welfare department, and rely on the police force to prevent the parents from causing further troubles. With constant trafficking, abandonment, and increased child abuse cases in China today the welfare department may not be able to withstand pressure in the long run.
Both the enormous pressure and irresistible temptations also further complicate the matter. According to Ministry of Civil Affairs Article 14 in (adoption of children of foreigners registered in the People’s Republic of China), the first and second paragraph state that a registration fee is required for any children adoption by foreigners, also an additional fee is required to pay off the fostering service third party. The third paragraph states: “The State encourages foreign adoption candidates and agencies to make donations to the social welfare sector.” The “donation” competition among developed countries’ causes domestic candidates to pay a considerable amount of “donation” before being able to adopt a child. Recently domestic welfare institutions are condemned for this “children trafficking “
practice and this leads to increased government funding as an attempt to ease the crooked practice. Yet welfare institutions will continue to accept financial support under the disguise of “donation” when foreign adoption candidates are involved, citing “unexpected pressure” as their excuse to shield themselves from criticism. Since the government remains its laissez faire attitude in regulating welfare institutions children trafficking problem will persist, or even become more severe. Prospect of this possible scenario leads to the question; whether abolishing custody rights of irresponsible parents is beneficial? Will this jeopardize China’s image on the international stage?
China lacks rule of law by tradition so it is common that perspectives are emotionally driven. The public may consider human trafficking as death penalty worthy, and in similar context negligent parents deserve to have their custody right stripped off. Moreover, many reporters and government officials are very eager to instigate and insert popular “public opinion” to mislead the people, and deterrence gradually garners more clamors. In fact blockade measures can only be effective to a certain degree.
Skyscrapers have strong foundations and the same applies to serious social problem; there’s got to be deeper roots that contribute the problem. Laws should function as a tool to help people to make better decisions and discourage unlawful behavior, but not to solely serve as means to punish after
wrongdoings are committed. Besides the large number of irresponsible parents the government and society also have their shares of blame: When the Public Security Bureau carries out the release on bail have they put law offenders’ minor children at home into consideration? Have they done enough to support children whose parents are serving prison sentences, mentally ill, disabled and single parent? Hukou system
(household registration) restrictions also make it impossible for many children live with their parents! ” Social compensation fee ” forces many fathers to leave their homes only to earn better wages to pay off the debt! There are tens of millions of “illegal children” as the government refuses to issue them household registration. The parents have no choice but to relocate, hoping to make enough to pay off ” social compensation fee “. Yet they are not allowed to take their children with them due to Hukou restrictions. How is it fair to have these parents shoulder all the blame for dereliction? Even in the case of Le Yan, the mother from Nanjing who seemingly committed the unforgivable sin for starving her child, the government cannot shy away from its share of social responsibility. Le Yan herself is born without household registration and it is only normal that her child is without one as well.
There is special mention on the adoption laws. Adoption is one of mankind’s greatest ideologies; helping poor parents rid themselves of biological children whom they cannot afford to raise, those who have the desire to adopt are able to fulfill their wishes, and less fortunate children may find a family they belong again. If the adoption practice had a proper system to regulate heinous acts like child abuse, abandonment and trafficking would be vastly reduced. This helps to limit the possibility of parents mistreating their children, abandonment, and shrinks the trafficking market. But with birth control being the deciding factor, China’s adoption law is uniquely strict, making the transaction ifficult for both the adopting parents and adoptees. The strict laws provide the standoffish stage for abuse, abandonment and contribute as the primary reason for the proliferation of trafficking crimes.
If the government and society were committed to provide sufficient care and protection for children, abandonment and trafficking crimes would definitely see a significant drop. Negligent parents would have no excuses for their dereliction. Their families, friends and neighbors would no longer react with misplaced sympathy. By that time, deprivation for serious misconduct or incorrigible parental custody becomes a matter of fact, and welfare institutions won’t need to be under pressure to take on the responsibility to raise these children. By then the parents convicted of dereliction of duty would become very isolated without the public taking their side, which would leave them no choice but to repent. They would also think twice before causing any havoc.
Source: WRIC Translator : Chia Kiah Yeen 3-10-2009
They were abandoned right after their births, just because they are girls
Twelve years ago, because of their female gender, the six children were abandoned by the door of a monastery right after their births. They are being adopted by a sixty-plus years old nun.
Nun Duo Bao with the girls（Source/WRIC volunteer Yao Cheng）
Nun DongShi’s monastery is situated in Liu An City of Anhui Province. It is in an isolated mountainous area. It is surrounded by mountains, and it did not have any traffic roads before. Offerings and visitors were rarely seen. It only had tap water and electricity a few years ago. Despite the difficult living conditions, the old nun did not abandon the babies, she did her best to take care of the babies with her soul.
Shi Weiyi and Shi Zhonghe, studying in a high school and a kindergarten respectively (Source/WRIC reporter Xin Lian)
Life went on peacefully, yet, since the kind old nun passed away last year, these poor children lost their sources of livelihood suddenly. The villagers from the villages are aware of their situation, although they have pity on the children and have thoughts of adopting them, yet their living conditions simply made it impossible for them to support these children. Furthermore, these children lived with the nun since their childhood, and had formed strong bonds with the monastery and could not bear to leave the monastery. After some families of better living conditions adopted two of the children, the four children left in the monastery and their lives became much tougher. They needed to be more independent in handling their daily issues. Often, kind-hearted villagers will give them some clothing and food, however, what they can help is still limited. Life goes on, these young children overcome all odds and survived through the next few years.
The year before last, Duo Bao monastery in Liu An City adopted these four children. The nuns spent all of their monthly living expenses to send them to school. Till today, the four children have healthy bodies, and have gained much knowledge in school. The main issue now for the poor nuns is paying for the miscellaneous school fees for all children and this issue leaves them in a state of melancholy. Indeed, this is not a small amount of money. This can be illustrated as a family in the middle-income range, who earn just enough to send one child to school. But to send several children to school…its mission is impossible.
In the Chinese rural areas, due to the cultural preference for sons and the family planning policy, families who had female infants usually kill their children secretly. This saves the childbirth quota for sons. Some female infants were left floating along the river, and those who were fortunate enough were picked up by passersby. Others were abandoned by the roadside, and some will be adopted and some will be sold to traffickers. The safest bet is to place them in front of the temples or churches. , leaving them in the hands of the kind-hearted nuns.
These abandoned girls also face much of an identity crisis, which directly affects their lives. Are they considered nuns? No, they had not gone through any ritual or ceremony in order to be one. How about citizens? That’s even more inaccurate, since births are not acknowledged by both their families and the government, they are not even entitled to the most basic national identity card. Be it the fault of the parents or the government, the child is innocent, they, like many other girls, have their intelligence and adorable appearance, naturally, they deserve the dignity that any human should have.
This is the farmland of a poor monastery polluted by garbage.（Source/ WRIC Yao Cheng）
The Da Bie mountainous area, situated in Liu An was once known as a red base, till today, it is still one of the biggest poverty areas in China. Firstly, because it is much isolated from other states, the villagers had a more old-fashion mindset, favoritism for sons is also stronger. There are few monasteries here, the nunneries are especially rarer. The number of girls living in the monasteries are fewer than those in Tong Cheng, yet giving up daughters for adoption or even selling away daughters are much more common. Some girls joined the labor force at the age of 14,15. Most girls in the Southern part of China come from Huo Qiu, Mount Holyoke and Jin Zhai. Speaking about this, one would think of the poster girl for Project Hope in China, shown in the “Beautiful eyes” project, is Su Ming Juan. She came from Jinzhai County Tao Ling Zhang Wan village. With the help of good Samaritans, Su is currently out of poverty and even hold a white-collar job now. Yet, do you know something? Among the old Shan Zhai area, there are still thousands of girls under the “Da Yan Jing” project awaiting good Samaritans to help them out!
中國婦權