{"id":238241,"date":"2022-02-18T18:36:02","date_gmt":"2022-02-19T02:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=238241"},"modified":"2022-02-25T22:01:11","modified_gmt":"2022-02-26T06:01:11","slug":"ccp-gestures-towards-womens-rights-to-sweeten-pro-natalist-shift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2022\/02\/ccp-gestures-towards-womens-rights-to-sweeten-pro-natalist-shift\/","title":{"rendered":"CCP Gestures Towards Women\u2019s Rights to Sweeten Pro-natalist Shift"},"content":{"rendered":"

A shifting tide of demographic policies has brought renewed attention to the status of women\u2019s rights in China. Given the historic <\/span>plunge in the national birth rate<\/span><\/a> and widespread public <\/span>skepticism toward the three-child policy<\/span><\/a>, the Chinese Communist Party finds itself in the position of needing to boost the birth rate in order to avoid a potential <\/span>future tsunami of social instability<\/span><\/a>, but its success depends on persuading women to get on board with the government\u2019s new pro-natalist agenda. Recent demographic policies have used a combination of carrots and sticks, revealing the CCP\u2019s dilemma: how much autonomy to grant women in its quest for long-term stability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So far, there appear to be more sticks than carrots. New policies regarding contraception have prioritized fertility over women\u2019s reproductive rights. <\/span>Guidelines<\/span><\/a> released by the State Council late last year called on local governments to <\/span>reduce abortions conducted for \u201cnon-medical purposes<\/span><\/a>,\u201d without defining what constitutes a non-medical purpose. In January, China\u2019s Family-Planning Association followed up on the guidelines by outlining a <\/span>\u201ccampaign of intervention\u201d to reduce unplanned pregnancies and abortions<\/strong><\/a> among adolescents and unmarried women. Liyan Qi from The Wall Street Journal reported on the announcement of the new plan:<\/span><\/p>\n

The plan stressed it was important to \u201creshape the parenting culture of multichild families.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

[…] Yaqiu Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that while it is unclear how the goal to reduce abortions will be implemented, \u201cgiven the government\u2019s history of restricting women\u2019s reproductive rights through abusive\u2014and sometimes violent\u2014means, this is certainly a cause for concern.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

[…] It was unclear from the family-planning association\u2019s plan what alternatives to abortion would be available to unmarried women who become pregnant.<\/span><\/p>\n

[…] Wang Pei\u2019an, a former top official in China\u2019s family-planning bureaucracy, which was created to enforce birth restrictions, is now the top Communist Party official at the Family-Planning Association. Mr. Wang is urging young people to be more responsible and have children. [<\/span>Source<\/strong><\/a>]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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A decade ago people were horrified by Feng Jianmei\u2019s forced abortion. Now authorities say they will prevent (some) abortions. This reversal can appear stunning for those unfamiliar with the control-at-all-cost ethos underpinning Beijing\u2019s birth policies. https:\/\/t.co\/SwowwbJMnb<\/a><\/p>\n

— Mei Fong\/ \u65b9\u51e4\u7f8e (@meifongwriter) February 13, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n