Why More Boys Than Girls in China?

By ZHENG ZHENZHEN

Happy childhood.

China’s current total fertility rate of 1.8 is not particularly high. What’s more, there is an imbalance in the number of infant boys and girls. Under the Chinese birth control policy, each couple is allowed to have one child, and most traditionally minded couples prefer boys to girls. According to the Fifth National Census, carried out in 2000, the ratio of infant boys to girls was 119.92:100 – much higher than the normal ratio of 106:100. In five Chinese provinces the ratio was higher than 130:100.

The phenomenon has aroused great concern among sociologists and the media. Many people are worried that within ten or twenty years, tens of thousands of men will not be able to find a spouse. The Fifth National Census also revealed that boys aged between 0 and 15 outnumber girls by more than 18 million. By 2010, these people will have reached marriageable age, and the imbalance will result in serious marriage and family problems.

Deep-rooted Traditional Ideas

This gender imbalance is a long-standing problem in China. In 1981, the ratio of boys to girls stood at 108.47:100, in the Third National Census, and increased to 111.92:100 in 1989. Discussions have focused on the future impacts of the phenomenon rather than the economic, social and cultural reasons that have caused it.

The Chinese people have long held the idea that boys are better than girls, due to their dominant position in the family and society. Though Chinese laws and regulations afford equal treatment to both genders, in practice, women’s rights are not often guaranteed in areas such as education, employment, promotion and inheritance. Moreover, the family often bears the responsibility of supporting its aged members, and the Chinese hold the traditional idea this responsibility falls upon the sons’ shoulders.

In an ideal world, a couple should have both boys and girls. However, with the restrictions of the Chinese birth control policy, many couples do everything in their power to ensure that their one child is male. Fines, and the cost of bringing up a second child are very high in China, and the average Chinese family simply cannot afford to do this. Instead, they use science to ensure their child is a boy. Such a practice also emerged in India and South Korea.

China’s incomplete pension and medical systems have also contributed to this problem. If the social welfare system could match the country’s economic development, elders would no longer need to depend on their children to support them, and girls would be just as welcome as boys.

Fundamental Solutions

There is no doubt that a high proportion of males in society will lead to problems in China’s population structure, and many experts are concerned about this. However, as many couples are of different ages, and higher numbers of migrant workers are sowing their seeds in different regions, it is likely that the problem will take some time to fully develop.

In a bid to balance the genders, and to protect women’s rights, the Chinese government has implemented a number of laws and regulations. The Population and Family Planning Law, the Regulations Prohibiting Fetus Sex Identification Other Than For Medical Needs and Sex Selective Artificial Abortions are all helping to bring the problem under control. The year 2003 saw the launch of the ‘Love For Girls’ activity, aimed at making the idea of having girls more acceptable to rural families. The laws, however, are at present civil ones. Some experts suggest that the criminal law be revised to crack down on illegal sex identification so as to control the gender ratio of newborn babies.

While this suggestion should be considered, it is not the fundamental solution to the problem. People must be relieved of their worries and concerns about having girls. In other words, the pension and medical systems need to be revamped and living standards improved so that the traditional idea of having to rely on a son dissolves. In some Chinese big cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, most families no longer worry about the sex of their children. As living standards continue to improve across the country, experts hope that the phenomenon will be reduced nationwide, and that the gender ratio will be gradually brought into balance.