nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com

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.

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  • Dutczar@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    2·
    18 days 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.mlEnglish
      11·
      18 days 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.