Gunslayer, it's just that in the Chinese culture, boys are valuable. They can provide for the family and so forth, whereas the girls are a liability, and a costly one.
This combined with China's attempt to control the population growth makes for the current situation.
One must also ask whether it is the Chinese government that is making them orphans, or the Chinese culture (which is FAR older than the government). To me, it's clear it's the people doing what they've always done, but on a much larger scale because of the population control attempts used by the Chinese government.
And, I must admit, I am glad the Chinese are TRYING. Their attempts might be misguided and wrong, but their intentions, to somehow get population growth controlled in a country that consists larlgey of uneducated farmers, are good.
We speak about worries of overcrowding, yet forget to try to find an answer. The Chinese government has tried, but due to the very old Chinese culture and the way woman and men are viewed there, it has backfired. Still, something *has* to be done.
Of course the best way to a stable +-0 population growth is a well developed economy with educated people. That would, however, mean that every Chinese family would have a gas guzzling RV.
Interesting problem.
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Baron Claus "StSanta" Von Ribbentroppen
9./JG 54 "Grünherz"
"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up space"
[This message has been edited by StSanta (edited 02-19-2001).]
