China’s “one couple, one *****” ****** planning policy could leave more than 24 million men unable to find a bride by the end of the decade, a report says.
The country’s leading think-tank describes the gender imbalance among newborns as the most serious demographic problem facing China. The surplus of bachelors — known as “bare branches” — in the rural areas has been described by senior officials as a problem that could lead to a surge in crime and social instability, the ruling Communist Party’s greatest fear.
The report makes no bones about how the one-***** policy — introduced to curb population growth and still in place in most circumstances — has led to a preference for boys. “Sex-specific abortions remained extremely commonplace, especially in rural areas,” the report, published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said.
Officials acknowledged that the introduction of ultrasound scans in the 1980s resulted in a surge of abortions of female foetuses after parents tried to ensure that their only ***** was a boy who could carry on the ****** line. That tradition is important in a society where reverence of ancestors continues to underpin the social structure and where farmers want sons. “The problem is more serious in rural areas due to the lack of a social security system,” the report said. “Ageing farmers have to rely on their offspring.”
