187
submitted 2 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

The government is again trying to insert itself into women’s childbearing decisions, knocking on doors and making calls with questions some find downright invasive.

The first time a government worker encouraged Yumi Yang to have a baby, she thought little of it. She and her husband were registering their marriage at a local office in northeastern China, and the worker gave them free prenatal vitamins, which she chalked up to the government trying to be helpful.

When an official later called to ask if she had taken them, and then called again after she did get pregnant to track her progress, Ms. Yang shrugged those questions off as well intentioned, too. But then officials showed up at her door after she had given birth, asking to take a photograph of her with her baby for their files. That was too much.

“When they came to my home, that was really ridiculous,” said Ms. Yang, 28. “I felt a little disgusted.”

Faced with a declining population that threatens economic growth, the Chinese government is responding with a time-tested tactic: inserting itself into this most intimate of choices for women, whether or not to have a child.

Officials are not just going door to door to ask women about their plans. They have partnered with universities to develop courses on having a “positive view of marriage and childbearing.” At high-profile political gatherings, officials are spreading the message wherever they can.


Non-paywall link

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 39 points 2 months ago

I love that all of the countries of the world tend to experience ups and downs with birth rate. However, only China, does away with the complexities of economic incentives, fiddly laws, educational programs, and delicate immigration policies. Rather, the government approach is simply, "stop having children!" "Now have more children!" "Go!"

[-] LadyAutumn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Yeah there is no logic behind it whatsoever. China is egregiously bad in this regard, but not alone, that's for sure. Conservatives the world over constantly fear monger about birth rates without ever actually trying to address the underlying social financial and cultural problems that prevent people from having children. The solution is always "yell at women to have more babies", not "better regulate the housing market so people wanting to start a family can actually access homes with space for children".

[-] WanderingVentra@lemm.ee 5 points 2 months ago

I'm imagining that scene of Family Guy with the "Smooooke" guy but instead it's "FUUUUUCK".

[-] cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml -3 points 2 months ago

Why are you assuming they aren’t trying to make having children more appealing by expanding access to family planning services, healthcare, and childcare? The article literally says they’re also doing those things.

[-] Dutczar@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 months ago

The only thing mentioned are the promotional campaigns and once, vaguely, "child-care resources". And the ratio is far more in the former's favour, which is useless. Same for women being pro- and against the government's actions, with there being more focus on the complaints. And they actually get quoted, so they're more trustworthy. I actually applaud them, since the supporters might just be doing it out of fear. No statistic to back up either though, but just about anyone will assume the Chinese government is fucking up privacy rights, as usual. There ARE quotes for that in here.

[-] cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml 0 points 2 months ago

And the ratio is far more in the former’s favour, which is useless. Same for women being pro- and against the government’s actions, with there being more focus on the complaints.

This is an article not a poll. The author of the article can choose to focus on women who are unhappy with the government programs even if they’re in the minority. The author can also highlight aspects of the Chinese system that are more invasive than others. Assuming everything in the article is factually correct, you still cannot make assumptions about how Chinese women feel more generally.

You also cannot proclaim that the government did not pursue means of promoting having children that did not infringe on women’s privacy, as the comment I was replying to did.

I actually applaud them, since the supporters might just be doing it out of fear.

This is just speculation and it contradicts other assumptions you’ve made based on this article. You seem to think the women quoted in the article are representative of China as a whole except of course when it comes to their willingness to criticize their government. This kind of logic is unreasonable and will easily lead you to believe all sorts of nonsense. It’s not all that different from how republicans get swept up into thinking Haitian immigrants were eating people’s pets.

[-] YeetPics@mander.xyz -2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Why are you commenting? Can't handle a dissenting opinions on something you feel like you've mastered?

[-] cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 months ago

Is anything I said wrong or are you just not very self aware?

this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2024
187 points (94.7% liked)

World News

39347 readers
1897 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS