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UPDATED: March 5, 2015 NO. 10 MARCH 5, 2015
Keeping the Balance
Authorities try to curb the gender imbalance in the country
By Yin Pumin
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HAPPY CHILDHOOD: Children at a school in Xuanen, Hubei Province, dance on November 11, 2014 (XINHUA)

Preference for boys is not uncommon in China, particularly in the countryside, where thousands of years of feudal values still cast their shadow.

China introduced the family planning policy in the 1970s to curb the rapid population explosion. Many couples prefer boys over girls in the belief that males will better support their families as well as carry on the family line and inherit property, as is required in feudal values.

In Shandong Province, for instance, the sex ratio among newborns in 2013 was 116.6 to 100. This made 2013 the fourth consecutive year in which the ratio had narrowed in Shandong, but it is still "relatively high," commented Lian Fang, an expert at the Reproductive and Genetic Center of the Hospital Affiliated with Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

In his government work report on January 27, Governor Guo Shuqing said Shandong has a male-to-female ratio of 120:100 in some areas.

However, Shandong's situation only forms part of a bigger national problem.

Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that, as of the end of 2014, the Chinese mainland had 33.76 million more males than females, with the sex ratio standing at 115.88 to 100. Though it is a six-year decrease, it still stands high above the international standard, making China one of the world's worst countries in terms of gender imbalance.

A normal sex ratio at birth is commonly ranged between 103 and 107 baby boys for every 100 girls.

The gender imbalance has induced issues including marriage difficulties and human trafficking.

Yuan Xin, a professor with the Institute of Population and Development at Tianjin-based Nankai University, said a gender imbalance has existed in China for over 30 years, and the government could work harder to promote gender equality and provide more benefits to daughters-only families.

"Also, the government should enforce regulations against illegal gender checks and the abortions that occur as a result," he said.

Huang Wenzheng, a demographer and former research fellow at Harvard University, believes that China's family planning policy has contributed to the low birth rate and worsening gender imbalance.

"Many people are asking the government to lift the family planning policy. The current spotlight on Shandong could make it a potential candidate for a pilot program," Huang said.

A prolonged battle

Lisa Eklund, a sociologist from Lund University in Sweden, found that a preference for boys remains steady in rural China, while at the same time adult sons in cities have been given a more important role in providing for the social and financial security of the elderly.

"The slow-changing preference for boys in the country, especially in its rural areas, is the root cause for the gender imbalance," said Zhai Zhenwu, a professor at the School of Sociology and Population Studies at Renmin University of China.

Further, Gao Liping, a demography expert with the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, said the advancement of medical technology has given more power to problematic traditional values.

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