A long-simmering debate on surrogate pregnancy
Society & Culture
Top society and culture news for February 8, 2017. Part of the daily The China Project news roundup "Chinese state media group invests in gay dating app.”
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China vows to continue surrogacy crackdown / Xinhua
A long-simmering debate over surrogate motherhood in China boiled over last week, as Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily published a controversial article (in Chinese) calling for a relaxation of surrogacy bans. In response to the widespread speculation that China will legalize surrogacy soon to boost childbirth rates, a spokesperson from China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission said at a press conference that China still takes a hardline stance on the practice of surrogacy. On Weibo, some internet users applauded the statement as “the right attitude from the government,” whereas others viewed the article as the government’s attempt to test the public’s attitudes toward surrogacy and the newly released announcement as a product of its failure. For more discussion regarding this topic, you can read this thread on Weibo (in Chinese). -
China investigates ‘rare pangolin banquet’ in Guangxi / BBC News
Chinese authorities have ordered an investigation into allegations that local officials in the southern province of Guangxi held a lavish feast that included meat of the endangered pangolin, an anteater-like mammal with a scaled body. The investigation came after a Weibo post in July 2015 by a user named Ah_cal. “This is my first time eating it and it tasted really good. I have already deeply fallen in love with this taste of wildlife!” said the post, which included several images of cooked meat and bones. After the post was discovered and drew outrage from internet users, the People’s Daily posted a short video on Weibo to warn people not to eat pangolin, as it’s in danger of extinction. However, most internet users ridiculed the post. “We normal people can’t afford pangolin meat. Why don’t you send this directly to government officials?” one commenter wrote.
- The lives of sex workers in modern China / Asia Society
- China promotes traditional medicine to combat AIDS / AsiaOne
- Construction of Christian theme park draws wide criticism on Chinese social media / What’s on Weibo
- A brief history of the art collectives on NYC’s Chinatown / Hyperallergic
- Ancient tomb of Chinese general and princess filled with figurines / CBS News
- Chinese family reunites 500 members for rare photo / BBC News
- Chubby tigers seen at China zoo / The Telegraph
