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tkayla15's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
janinevduijn's review
5.0
This book was most insightful, it clearly explains the history, present problems, and future issues associated with the one child policy. It's clearly written and contains personal anecdotes that really illustrate how people's lives are influenced by the policy.
gabmc's review
4.0
This was such an interesting book on the impact of China's One Child Policy. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because I wanted it to be longer! In the ebook, the actual book content stopped at 68%, with the remainder being footnotes. Well worth a read - and not a dry or boring read either.
huntour's review
4.0
A look into China's one-child policy -- explains why it was enacted, how it was enforced, and the people who have and still suffer the consequences. It was amazing and my mouth of agape while reading certain accounts.
donnaadouglas's review
5.0
This is a remarkable piece of non-fiction from journalist Mei Fong, a Chinese-Malaysian correspondent based in Beijing in the lead up to the 2008 Olympics. What surprised me most was how little I knew about the consequences of China's one-child policy. I knew it was radical, sure, but I didn't know how shocking its effects were.
Initially engineered in 1980 as a means of controlling a growing population, the one-child policy has led to an overabundance of men in China. Through cultural male preference/abortion of female foetuses, there is now a surplus of 30-40 million men in China, with the author stating that "in little under a decade there will be more Chinese bachelors than Saudi Arabians". This is beginning to impact upon neighbouring countries like "Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and North Korea, where trafficking and kidnapping of women for Chinese men have risen in recent years." With an increasing ageing population as well, it's estimated that similarly, in a decade there will be "more Chinese retirees than Europeans". And these are just the least shocking results of the policy!
Birth regulations were quite heavily enforced from 1980. Families who 'accidentally' have a second child are fined heavily, and if they cannot pay the fines (often as hefty as $16,000) they don't get a hukou, a type of Chinese ID card which is required for a person to be educated, receive healthcare or do anything official. Without this, the child would be a 'nonentity' child, with very little prospects or future. There are an estimated 13 million people in China without a hukou. Another consequence of parents being unable to raise the fines is that the child would be taken away by the family planning authorities and "sold into adoption", often to the West.
Abortions were frequently used as a means of birth control. Often with children born out of wedlock being forcibly aborted in late-term pregnancy. Google 'Feng Jianmei' to read one of the more shocking stories recounted. Sterilisations were also routine, with 20 million undertaken in 1983 alone.
It's worth noting that local authorities were responsible for their own implementation of the one-child policy, so different areas of China were harsher/more lenient with how they punished 'rule-breakers', and each had certain 'quotas' for sterilisations that they needed to meet, "a system ripe for corruption". If quotas weren't met there were sanctions placed on family planning officials, such as wage cuts, demotion or dismissal.
This was such a compelling read, the story of the policy interwoven with the author's own journey through IVF treatments, which gave it a poignant framework. I found this such a fascinating book and was captivated throughout.
Initially engineered in 1980 as a means of controlling a growing population, the one-child policy has led to an overabundance of men in China. Through cultural male preference/abortion of female foetuses, there is now a surplus of 30-40 million men in China, with the author stating that "in little under a decade there will be more Chinese bachelors than Saudi Arabians". This is beginning to impact upon neighbouring countries like "Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and North Korea, where trafficking and kidnapping of women for Chinese men have risen in recent years." With an increasing ageing population as well, it's estimated that similarly, in a decade there will be "more Chinese retirees than Europeans". And these are just the least shocking results of the policy!
Birth regulations were quite heavily enforced from 1980. Families who 'accidentally' have a second child are fined heavily, and if they cannot pay the fines (often as hefty as $16,000) they don't get a hukou, a type of Chinese ID card which is required for a person to be educated, receive healthcare or do anything official. Without this, the child would be a 'nonentity' child, with very little prospects or future. There are an estimated 13 million people in China without a hukou. Another consequence of parents being unable to raise the fines is that the child would be taken away by the family planning authorities and "sold into adoption", often to the West.
Abortions were frequently used as a means of birth control. Often with children born out of wedlock being forcibly aborted in late-term pregnancy. Google 'Feng Jianmei' to read one of the more shocking stories recounted. Sterilisations were also routine, with 20 million undertaken in 1983 alone.
It's worth noting that local authorities were responsible for their own implementation of the one-child policy, so different areas of China were harsher/more lenient with how they punished 'rule-breakers', and each had certain 'quotas' for sterilisations that they needed to meet, "a system ripe for corruption". If quotas weren't met there were sanctions placed on family planning officials, such as wage cuts, demotion or dismissal.
This was such a compelling read, the story of the policy interwoven with the author's own journey through IVF treatments, which gave it a poignant framework. I found this such a fascinating book and was captivated throughout.
sophiedavenport's review
4.0
Extremely readable. Personal in its stories and factual without becoming overwhelming. I would recommend to anyone considering a childfree life. ****
listen_learn's review
5.0
I was expecting this to be an informative, interesting-by-dint-of-its-topic book, but I was wrong.
Not only did this book stretch my mind, it made me a more empathetic person and inspired me as a writer. Besides her well-crafted, well-reasearched arguments on the effects of the policy, Fong tells the human stories of triumph and tragdey in China's recent history. Family, tradition, and politics all come alive in her writing on a broad and personal scale. With the text's flair for metaphors and imagery, unusual for non-fiction, I was hooked from start to finish.
This is a book I would recommend to someone who wants to peer inside China's last half a century. I would warn that it is not a happy tale, and has some gruesome and even crude content, but that the grisly is a worthwhile price for the insight.
Not only did this book stretch my mind, it made me a more empathetic person and inspired me as a writer. Besides her well-crafted, well-reasearched arguments on the effects of the policy, Fong tells the human stories of triumph and tragdey in China's recent history. Family, tradition, and politics all come alive in her writing on a broad and personal scale. With the text's flair for metaphors and imagery, unusual for non-fiction, I was hooked from start to finish.
This is a book I would recommend to someone who wants to peer inside China's last half a century. I would warn that it is not a happy tale, and has some gruesome and even crude content, but that the grisly is a worthwhile price for the insight.