Surrogate motherhood and its critics
Society & Culture
Top society and culture news for February 6, 2017. Part of the daily The China Projectย news roundup "Chinese troops in Afghanistan."
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The Peopleโs Daily urges โnon-commercial surrogate motherhoodโย / Peopleโs Daily (in Chinese)
On Friday, the Peopleโs Dailyย published an articleย arguing for a relaxation of regulations on โnon-commercial surrogate motherhoodโ because infertility is a common problem for many Chinese people, especially older couples who want to have a second child under the new birth policy. According to the article, of the roughly 90 million Chinese couples who are eligible to have a second child, 60 percent of wives are over 35 years old, and 50 percent are over 40. Peopleโs Dailyย also launched a poll on the social media site Weibo to ask readersโ opinions, but the poll was removed after attracting large waves of online criticism. Comments includedย โThe government has no sense of shame at all in encouraging families to have more babiesโ and โWhat does non-commercial surrogacy mean? Who is willing to do this if not for money?โ -
Rong Jian on thought and scholarship in Chinaย / The China Story
Rong Jian ่ฃๅ was a Ph.D. candidate in Marxist philosophy at Renmin University in Beijing in 1989. His academic career was derailed by the tumult of that year, and he became a businessman. In 2010, he began publishing essays on society, philosophy, and the place of intellectuals in China. His latest essay is provocatively titled โA China Bereft of Thought.โ The link above connects to an introduction and translation of the essay by the scholar Gloria Davies.
- Chinese doctorโs dash underlines private healthcare challengesย / Financial Times (paywall)
- The world is eating Chinese caviar (and doesnโt know it)ย / Thatโs Beijing
- Fashioning a revival of ancient Chinese attireย / Straits Times
- In pictures: Millions of Chinese workers return to work after New Year celebrationsย / SCMP
