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The latest issue of "Medicine and Society" magazine lately
quoted a survey to probe into people's thinking on childbearing
in China as saying that over 60% respondents still prefer to have
a boy rather than a girl for an unbroken ancestral line. Without
doubt, this underlies the tardy process for people to have a break
from old ideas they have long embraced when speaking about childbearing
in China.
Some experts in 1999 had undertaken a sample survey on sex propensity,
childbearing age and matters like the number of children to be had
by Chinese families in Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and some
other provinces and areas in China. They found that 63.4% people
are in the hope to have a boy instead of a girl, 37.2% want a boy
to keep up ancestral line, and 42.8% desire to rear children to
provide for their old age.
The survey even listed a greater number of respondents and a higher
percentage of like views held by people in some economically underdeveloped
areas in China. A smaller percentage, a cut number of people and
less prejudices against sex were otherwise presented when having
a higher education level and under a developed economy. So, demographers
say birth control should not be regarded as a universal recipe in
bringing about a change of people's old thinking on childbearing
or a reduction of population. At present, more efforts should be
made for an improved social security system, improved conditions
for health care and advancements of science and education to push
forward an all-round development of economy and social welfare to
enable people to have better livelihood away from confines of a
family life.
(People's Daily 01/11/01)
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